US  attack endangers Syria truce - Russia 
Moscow 18 Sep (ANA) - A US-led air attack in eastern Syria that killed dozens of government troops fighting so-called Islamic State has endangered an already shaky ceasefire deal, Russia says. The attack put "a very big question mark" over the truce's future, said Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin. The Russian army says at least 62 Syrian troops were killed in the Deir al-Zour strikes. The US has expressed "regret" for the "unintentional loss of life".
It says its coalition planes halted strikes when informed of the Syrian presence. A ceasefire deal agreed by the US and Russia went into effect in Syria on Monday, but important terms of the deal, such as the safe passage of aid, have still not been fulfilled. The air attack caused a bitter row between the US and Russia at the United Nations Security Council on Saturday night, with each country's representatives walking out while the other was speaking. US envoy Samantha Power criticised Russia for calling an emergency meeting of the council, which she said was "cynical and hypocritical". "Russia really needs to stop the cheap points-scoring and the grandstanding and the stunts and focus on what matters, which is implementation of something we negotiated in good faith with them," she told reporters. But Mr Churkin said he had never seen "such an extraordinary display of American heavy-handedness" as shown by Ms Power. He implied the future of the Syria deal could rest on how Washington reacts to the incident. "If what Ambassador Power has done today is any indication of their possible reaction then we are in serious trouble," Mr Churkin said. The cessation of hostilities brokered jointly by the US and Russia does not include attacks on IS or other jihadist groups. (ANA)
FA/ANA/18 September 2016-------