MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. The withdrawal of US troops from the occupied Syrian territories would ensure that the population of the region could return to a peaceful life, Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian inter-agency coordination headquarters, and Hussein Makhlouf, his Syrian counterpart, said in a joint statement on Friday.

"Only the withdrawal of the US military contingent and the transfer of the refugee camps to the control of the Syrian government can ensure respect for human rights and the full return of the population of the territories they are currently occupying to a peaceful life," the statement said.

In addition, it said that the Syrian leadership's efforts to return the population to a peaceful life have met with strong opposition from the US and its allies, who continue to occupy part of Syria's territory, steal oil and wheat, and support terrorist organizations.

"This is proved by the comments of the commander of the US Armed Forces Central Command, General Michael E. Kurilla, to the foreign media," the statement said. The heads of the respective inter-agency coordination headquarters pointed out that Kurilla's interview with Jordanian media noted the need for the speedy "repatriation" of the families of militants fighting for the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist organization who are Syrian or Iraqi citizens living in the Al-Hol refugee camp in [territory] controlled by the US and in the Euphrates Region territory under the control of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces. According to the general, who visited the camp, there is a threat of the mass ideological indoctrination of the children living there by IS-affiliated proselytizers.

The Russian and Syrian sides stressed that Kurilla’s visit to the camp represented a blatant violation of generally accepted norms of international law. "This statement demonstrates once again that the occupation of Syrian territory by the US and its allied militias under the pretext of ‘fighting terrorism’ actually only contributes to the growing security threats to the entire Middle East. The US is capable neither of ensuring the safety of civilians in refugee camps nor of guaranteeing the inalienable rights of thousands of children living there to a decent life, education and medical care," the officials noted. They stressed that a similar situation occurred in the Al-Rukban camp in the US-occupied zone of Al-Tanf.

"Once again, we want to draw the attention of the international community to the acutely negative consequences of the military presence of US occupation forces on Syrian territory, theft of oil and wheat, [and] illegal unilateral sanctions that prevent the strengthening of the Syrian state to return the population to a peaceful, decent life," the statement said.