Lavrov Hopes Trump Will Stick to US Promises to Leave Syria after ISIS Defeat

MOSCOW- US President Donald Trump’s declared intention to pull US troops out of Syria demonstrates his commitment to promises to leave that country after the so-called “Islamic State”  (IS, ISIS or Daesh) has been defeated, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow on Monday, according to Itar Tass.

“What we find particularly worrisome is that despite constant promises the United States’ sole goal in Syria is struggle against terrorism over the past month we have seen US efforts to get deeply entrenched on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates,” Lavrov said. In his opinion, Trump’s latest statements mean that “he is committed at least to the previous promises the United States will leave Syria after victory over the Islamic State.”

 “It is important to bear in mind that the United States had sent its commandos and air forces and created a coalition in violation of the UN Charter, which requires respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all member-states,” Lavrov recalled.

Speaking in Richfield, Ohio, on Thursday Trump said the United States might leave that Arab country very soon. He added time was ripe for “other people” to take care of Syria. He also vowed ISIS would vacate all territories under its control.

Trump’s declarations about future pullout from Syria contradict the previous statements by the US Administration on that score.

In January 2018, US Vice-President Michael Pence said the United States was committed to presence in Syria “not only to defeat the Islamic State, but to restrain the malign influence of Iran.”

Before his resignation from the post of the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that Washington was determined to “wipe out terrorists” in Syria and that US presence was to become the destabilizing factor promoting the negotiations in Geneva under the UN auspices.