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Conflict in Syria

US troops’ withdrawal from Syria will take long, says Russian deputy minister

The diplomat considers the issue to be one of most relevant as of today

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov Sergey Fadeichev/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov

© Sergey Fadeichev/TASS

MOSCOW, January 5. /TASS/. Moscow harbors no illusions regarding US troops’ withdrawal from Syria, which is going to take a long time, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Saturday.

The diplomat considers the issue to be one of most relevant as of today. "Controversial signals are coming, the schedule and overall the consequence of respective steps in the area," he said, noting that the ministry is "monitoring the process assuming that the US contingent's staying on the Syrian territory is illegal in any case."

"We harbor no illusions regarding the rates of implementation of that line. We expect the process to be long, rather uncertain and controversial, but we’ll see," Ryabkov stressed. According to the diplomat, the sooner the American troops leave Syria, the "safer and calmer it will become in the region."

On December 19, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s decision to begin the withdrawal of US forces from Syria. He noted that the United States had succeeded in its mission to defeat the Islamic State (IS, terror group, outlawed in Russia) and that it was time to bring American troops home.

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