US Secretary of State John Kerry rejected Russian charges Washington was stalling talks on a rebel withdrawal from the Syrian city of Aleppo in order to buy them time, Al Hurra channel reported.

"I'm not aware of any specific refusal," Kerry said when asked about Moscow's charges as he attended a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.

After talks last week in Rome, the two agreed to discuss humanitarian relief at a gathering in Geneva at the end of this week. However, Mr. Lavrov said Tuesday that negotiations between Moscow and the U.S. were breaking down and that Washington wouldn’t attend the Geneva meeting.

The Syrian government of President Bashar al Assad, has repeatedly said it opposes any cease-fire proposal for the divided northern city of Aleppo that doesn’t include the exit of all anti-government rebels from the neighborhoods they hold. 

It also said it won’t allow the insurgents to use a truce as an opportunity to regroup.

Source: MENA