Kremlin Puzzled Over US' Calls to Impose Anti-Russian Sanctions Over Syria

Suggestions by the United States of expanding its sanctions against Russia in the context of an ongoing anti-terrorist campaign in Syria is puzzling given Washington's failure to meet its obligations as part of bilateral agreements, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a press briefing Monday that the public would be informed concerning sanctions targeting Syria and Russia "only after that decision has been made and those penalties have been imposed."

"Of course, in general, imposing sanctions in the context of Syrian affairs evokes deep misunderstanding, especially among those who know the reality of the situation in Syria, the real situation related to the implementation of commitments set out in Russian-US agreements," Peskov told reporters.

On September 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced a new plan on Syria, which stipulates a ceasefire that came into force on September 12. However, the cessation of hostilities was declared ineffective because of numerous violations of the ceasefire by Syrian rebels.

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry released the full text of the Russia-US deal on Syria as Washington failed to meet its obligations, while calling on Moscow not to make the agreement public.

Commenting on the release of the document, the foreign ministry said that it had proposed to make the document public, however, Washington refused to do so. The move caused "some questions about whether the US is sincere or not."

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