Kerry sees no sign of "seriousness of purpose" on part of Russia, which in turn terms US threat "emotional breakdown".
The US is "on the verge" of ending talks on Syria with Russia following days of deadly attacks on Aleppo, according to the US secretary of state.
US officials say the administration is looking at other ways to end the war in Syria that has been going on for over five years.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council think-tank on Thursday, John Kerry said that the US is "on the verge of suspending the discussion because it's irrational in the context of the kind of bombing taking place".
He said the US has no indication of Russia's "seriousness of purpose" and discussions made no sense at a time when Russian and Syrian warplanes were bombing rebel-held areas of Syria's second largest city.
The US has been working with Russia for months to try to secure a ceasefire in Syria.
The latest truce collapsed last week after several days of relative calm.
The joint bombardment of Aleppo has left more than 400 people dead and at least 1,700 wounded since last week
On Wednesday, US officials told Reuters news agency that President Barack Obama's government had begun to consider tougher responses - including military options - to President Bashar al-Assad government's assault on Aleppo.
The officials said the failure of diplomacy in Syria has left the US administration no choice but to consider alternatives, most of which involve some use of force and have been examined before but held in abeyance.
Earlier, Sergei Ryabkov, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said the US threat to suspend talks on Syria over the bombardment of Aleppo's rebel-held areas constitutes "an emotional breakdown".
Ryabkov also rejected US calls for a week-long truce as "unacceptable", but said a two-day ceasefire could allow desperately needed aid to reach the more than 250,000 civilians trapped in Aleppo.
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