MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. The United States wants to maintain a military presence in Syria in order to establish control over oil fields and divide the country, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic Mahmoud Shawa said on Wednesday.

"The United States decided to invent various pretexts to justify keeping the illegal presence of their bases and troops on Syrian soil with the goal of establishing control and domination over oil fields and dividing Syria through the so-called federation project," he said.

According to him, the defeat of terrorism in Syria was "a blow to the plans of the West" and paved the way for a peaceful resolution of the crisis by Syrians themselves.