Russia-US spat dooms UN statement on Damascus bomb

Sniping between Moscow and Washington over Syria does not augur well for upcoming meeting between foreign ministers

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia and the United States are blaming each other for the failure of the Security Council to issue a statement condemning the car bomb attack in Damascus that killed at least 53 people.

The attack Wednesday on Syria’s ruling party headquarters and two other bombs that struck intelligence offices left at least 75 dead.

Russia accuses the US of blocking a council statement condemning the rebel attacks. The US says it supported the statement but wanted to add language condemning the Assad regime’s recent attacks.

The sniping between Moscow and Washington over Syria, while not new, hardly augurs well for a Feb. 26 meeting in Berlin of Russia Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and John Kerry, the new US secretary of state.

The meeting will focus on Syria, among other matters.