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U.S.-Russia Ties Crumble Under Weight of Syria, Nuclear Pact

  • ‘Everybody’s patience with Russia has run out,’ Earnest says
  • Putin decree on arms treaty cites U.S. threats to ‘stability’
A digger removes the rubble of destroyed buildings on Oct. 3, 2016, following reported air strikes in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus.

A digger removes the rubble of destroyed buildings on Oct. 3, 2016, following reported air strikes in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of the capital Damascus.

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Ties between Russia and the U.S. deteriorated further after the Obama administration proclaimed bilateral peace talks over Syria dead and Moscow suspended a 16-year-old treaty meant to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation.

“Everybody’s patience with Russia has run out,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said in Washington on Monday, blaming Vladimir Putin’s government for undermining the fight against Islamic State and for indiscriminate bombing that has killed civilians and targeted hospitals in Syria. “Russians have been complicit” in the Syrian tragedy, Earnest said, and “there is nothing more for the United States and Russia to talk about.”