US occupation of Syria remains obstacle to solving Rukban crisis - Lavrov

Russian Politics & Diplomacy April 07, 2019, 12:45

Russian Foreign Minister also said that US forces cooperate with militants in Al-Tanf zone

AMMAN, April 7. /TASS/. The easiest way to resolve Syria’s Rukban camp issue is to put an end to the unlawful US occupation of the Syrian territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on the outcomes of the talks with his Jordan colleague Ayman Safadi.

"I think that the easiest and most effective choice would be to put an end to the unlawful occupation of this territory by the United States," he noted. "There is a Russian-Jordanian operative staff on refugees in Amman. We discuss the issue of dismantling the camp there, and the US participates in this effort sometimes. I hope that they will choose a more constructive approach to the resolution of this pressing issue for Jordan".

The US military is cooperating with illegal armed groups in the Al-Tanf zone, Lavrov added.

"The Americans have announced the establishment of some safety zone in the Al-Tanf area with a 55-kilometer radius. It is unclear what they base their illegal presence there on: it is basically occupation. The Rukban camp is within this area. There is a lot of illegal armed groups there, and the Americans are gladly cooperating with them, as far as I understand, to help them recover their strength," he said.

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