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Russian diplomat doubts US will totally withdraw from Syria

In December Donald Trump declared the US’ decision to start the pullout of the American forces from Syria

© EPA-EFE/YOUSSEF RABIE YOUSSEF

NEW DELHI, January 9. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry doubts that the US will fully withdraw from Syria militarily, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists on Wednesday.

"The situation regarding the withdrawal of the American forces from Syria will be multiply affected by various factors in the future," Ryabkov noted. "We can see the way statements on the decision to withdraw forces are interpreted in various authoritative structures in the US and which signals on this issue are coming from representatives of the administration itself."

CONFLICT IN SYRIA

"I think that the supporters of preserving the US’ illegal military presence in Syria have rather strong positions in Washington," he said, answering a TASS question on whether Russia believes that the US will leave Syria. "I don’t know the way this presence may be formatted and whether it will be open or secret. However, I can’t imagine the US physically, fully and undisputedly withdrawing from Syria military all of a sudden in the current situation of Washington’s unrestrained chase for global domination and the strive to be present everywhere and solve issues only on its terms."

"I wish I were wrong," Ryabkov added.

On December 19, US President Donald Trump declared the US’ decision to start the pullout of the American forces from Syria. He explained it by the fact that the IS (Islamic State, a terror organization, outlawed in Russia) had been defeated in Syria and that it was the only reason why the US armed forces were there.

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