Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says U.S. responsible for delay in Syrian settlement

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that it is the United States and its allies, not Russia, that are responsible for the delay in seeking a peaceful settlement of the Syria crisis.

The top Russian diplomat, who while attending the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, made the remarks to refute a recent statement of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who said that Washington was losing patience with Russia and Syria's Bashar al-Assad, who are "creating obstacles" to a solution in the war-torn country.

"It is not correct to demonstrate impatience referring to us," said Lavrov.

International Diplomats Scramble to Re-establish Syria Truce

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting with international diplomats in Geneva in an effort to end hostilities in Syria where government forces have pounded the rebel-held city of Aleppo for more than a week. The pressure is on Russia to use its influence over Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stop the violence.

Crimea Updates: Kerry, Lavrov meet in Paris today

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry changed course after a week of travel in the Mideast and arrived in Paris Saturday for talks with his Russian counterpart, Lavrov  on the Ukraine crisis. From Saudi Arabia, Kerry landed in Shannon, Ireland for a refueling stop, when he decided to turn his plane around and head to Paris. 

U.S. Secretary of State, Foreign Secretary and Ukraine Foreign Minister Meet in Paris

            Press Statement on the Budapest Memorandum Meeting

Diplomatic source confirmed that Kerry, Hague and eshchytsia hold direct talks on Ukraine crisis in Paris today and have issued a joint statement reminding the Russian Federation of the Budapest Memorandum, the 1994 agreement signed by the Governments of the U. S. A., the U. K. and Russia. 

 

 The joint statement reads: