Russia says U.S. statement on Syria amounts to supporting terrorism: agencies

Ryabkov was referring to a statement made by U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby who said on Wednesday that Russia had an interest in stopping the violence in Syria because extremists could exploit the vacuum there and launch attacks "against Russian interests, perhaps even Russian cities."

Ryabkov was quoted as saying the statement was "an emotional outburst."

He also said a seven-day ceasefire plan proposed for Syria by the United States was unacceptable for Russia and that Moscow was proposing a 48-hour "humanitarian pause" in the city of Aleppo instead.

(Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)