Russia was very disappointed with the US decision to postpone a bilateral meeting on the preparations for an international conference on Syria, Russia's foreign ministry said Tuesday.
The meeting was scheduled for Wednesday in The Hague to speed up the convention of the Geneva-Two conference, but the postponement "literally on the eve of the date agreed" was really disappointing, Xinhua quoted ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich as saying.
On Monday, the US decided to postpone the talks due to "ongoing consultations" over alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Ministers Gennady Gatilov and Mikhail Bogdanov were to participate in the meeting along with US Under Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford.
"We are convinced that in the current dramatic situation around Syria artificially pumped by a number of countries, the importance of coordinated actions of Russia, US and entire international community has been ever increasing," Lukashevich said.
Washington's decision has sent a signal to the Syrian opposition, encouraging its hard-line stand in anticipation of foreign military intervention, Lukashevich said.
"Such US position directly contradicts the agreements reached by the G8 leaders at Lough Erne summit, which firmly stressed the importance of an independent investigation of any use of chemical weapons in Syria and submitting the investigation's conclusions to the UN Security Council," the spokesman said.
In mid-June, G8 leaders issued a joint statement on Syria, which showed they were united in seeking a negotiated and peaceful end to the conflict through a transitional government.
Lukashevich noted that the attempts to bypass the UN Security Council and to create artificial excuses for military intervention in Syria would lead to new sufferings of its people and bring disastrous consequences for Middle East and Northern Africa.
He urged the US and the international community to exercise prudence and strictly obey international law and the UN Charter.
Also Tuesday, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said it was "regrettable" that the meeting was cancelled by Washington unilaterally.
