US Ambassador to Russia: American troops will leave Syria only when terrorists are defeated
US Ambassador to Russia, John Huntsman, believes that it will be possible to talk about the withdrawal of US troops from Syria only after making sure that the war with the terrorists has been successfully completed, as he indicated in an interview with Vedomosti, which was published on Monday.
"You can drive out all of the terrorists from Raqqa and the surrounding Euphrates river valley, but they can regroup and restore their resources, which means that premature departure can simply render our efforts worthless. It is necessary to make sure that the fight against terrorists is successfully completed before withdrawing troops," Huntsman said.
The American ambassador noted that he does not have an exact date for the withdrawal of American troops from Syria. At the same time, Huntsman expressed the opinion that US President Donald Trump would not order this action until the "work is done."
Earlier, the command for the Inherent Resolve Operation, which is being conducted in Iraq and Syria by a coalition of countries led by the United States, announced the withdrawal from Syria of about 400 American servicemen who participated jointly with the Syrian Kurds in the operation to free Raqqa from the Islamic State.
According to The Washington Post, the US authorities intend to maintain their military presence in northern Syria after the defeat of the Islamic State to prevent the restoration of control by Iranian-backed government troops. On November 28th, the Center responsible for personnel within the Office of the US Secretary of Defense published a quarterly report, from which it became known that the US military contingent in Syria amounts to 1,720 people, which is almost four times the number reported earlier (about 500 people).