MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Russia is not going to cooperate with Washington on Syrian oil fields because they belong to the Syrian people, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told reporters on Wednesday.

US President Donald Trump earlier endorsed a plan stipulating that at least 800 US troops would remain in Syria in order to ensure control over oil deposits.

"We won’t cooperate with the Americans on the Syrian oil. This concerns Syrian oil, which is the Syrian people’s heritage," Vershinin stressed. "We are convinced that it’s up to the Syrian people to manage their natural resources, including oil."

The Russian diplomat noted that soon a meeting on the Syrian settlement in Astana would be held. Speaking on Moscow’s plans to help the Syrian army establish control over Kurdish camps for detained militants, Vershinin stressed that Russia was providing assistance to Damascus in regaining full control over the republic’s territory.

In late October, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley announced that the US sought to keep control over Syrian oil fields belonging to the Conoco company located in Deir ez-Zor. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that Washington was smuggling Syrian oil to other countries, and the convoys were under protection of US private military companies and special ops units.