UPDATE - Russia says US cancels Aleppo talks

ADDS STATE DEPT. COMMENTS

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (AA) – Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday said a meeting on Aleppo set for Wednesday in Geneva has been canceled after the U.S. withdrew its proposals.

The joint plan of action aimed to set a date to clear armed groups from pre-war Syria’s second largest city.

“Concerning consultations on Aleppo, it's a detective story. On Dec. 2 in Rome the state secretary of the USA, John Kerry, asked me to support the concrete document which the Americans gave us,” Lavrov said at a news conference. He said the document was in accord with Moscow’s desires and the U.S. set the Dec. 7 date for the meeting.

“Suddenly, last night we received from them the message that they unfortunately will not be able to meet tomorrow because they had changed their mind, withdraw their document, and now they have a new project that, according to our first impressions from reading it, looks like an attempt to ‘buy’ time,” he added.

He also issued a warning to armed groups that have not left eastern Aleppo. “Those armed groups not leaving Aleppo willingly will be annihilated.”

U.S. State Department said Washington has been looking for “practical ways” to pause the fighting in Syria.

“We're just not at a point yet where we can say that getting together to have these talks would be constructive,” agency spokesman Mark Toner said.

He acknowledged American officials are still having talks with Russia and regional partners and that said diplomatic bilateral discussions with Moscow continue because it is “a pivotal stakeholder” in Syria.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.

Washington Correspondent Kasim Ileri contributed to this report.