6 October 2016, 16:27 GMT
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — However, Earnest added, "I’m not going to take any options off the table."
"Military action against the Assad regime, to try to address the situation in Aleppo, is unlikely to accomplish the goals that many envision now in terms of reducing the violence there, and is much more likely to lead to a bunch of unintended consequences that are clearly not in our national interest," Earnest told reporters.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, as numerous opposition groups and terrorist formations, such as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra Front), are fighting the Syrian Army in an attempt to topple the Assad government.
On Monday, the US State Department announced it was suspending bilateral channels with Russia established to sustain a cessation of hostilities agreement in Syria.
