Russia hopes all foreign troops will leave Syria soon as situation stabilizes

Russia’s special envoy for Syria has expressed hopes that all foreign troops will soon withdraw from the Arab country to respect its sovereignty and stop the looting of its natural resources.

“We hope that the presence of a limited American contingency and of a number of Western states in northeastern Syria, as well as the Turkish contingency in the northwestern part of the country is temporary,” Alexander Lavrentiev said on Thursday after the 16th round of the Astana talks aimed at resolving the Syria conflict.

“Soon, as the situation stabilizes, all these military contingencies will withdraw from the country,” he added.

The Russian official also stressed that the withdrawal of foreign forces from Syria would ensure its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and help end the plundering of the country’s natural resources.

The looting of Syria’s resources is “absolutely unacceptable” as they “belong to the Syrian nation and … should be fairly distributed in the interest of all ethnic groups,” he said.

Lavrentiev further called on Washington-backed Syria militants to hold talks with the government, warning of a similar situation like Afghanistan.

“I think that the withdrawal of US troops from Syria may take place at any time,” he said.

The withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan signals the Kurds that the United States may arrive at a decision to leave Syria, too, he added. “You must remember that former US president Donald Trump had decided to withdraw troops but his decision was later reconsidered and delayed.”

Syria has been gripped by foreign-sponsored militancy since March 2011, with the US and its allies aiding Takfiri terrorist groups.

The United States has deployed forces and military equipment in Syria without any authorization from Damascus or the UN. It has long been training militants and stealing Syria’s oil, ignoring repeated calls by Damascus to end its occupation of the country.