WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US officials are awaiting a response from Russia to a suggestion for extending the cessation of hostilities in Syria, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday in New York.
"We need to see what the Russians say," Kerry stated when asked if Moscow had responded to Washington’s request to extend the ceasefire. "We need to see where we are, and then we’ll make a judgment. But we don’t have all the facts at this point."
Kerry spoke ahead of his meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Earlier on Monday, the Department of State said the United States is ready to prolong the ceasefire in Syria brokered by US and Russian diplomats.
That statement followed a Syrian army announcement that the truce had ended due to numerous violations by militants.
On September 9, Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a peace plan to address Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011. The ceasefire stipulated in the agreement took effect September 12.
Humanitarian access, along with seven days of reduced violence, are among the agreement’s conditions.
