Zakharova: US Troops’ Withdrawal from Syria to Create Prospects for Political Solution

MOSCOW-  The US decision to pull its troops from Syria creates good prospects for a political solution in that Arab country, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Maria Zakharova said on Channel One on Wednesday, according to Itar Tass.

“A milestone story which might evolve from this decision is a real prospect for a political solution,” she said adding that the US decision aroused hopes of de-escalation in At-Tanf.

“Hope emerges that this location on the Syrian map will follow the example of Aleppo and other Syrian towns and villages which begin getting back to peaceful life,” she explained. “Once Americans were there, there was no such hope”.

Constitutional committee has good chances after US pullout from Syria

Zakharova also said that the initiative to set up a committee on discussing the constitution  for Syria has good prospects after the US decision to pull out its troops from Syri.

She told Channel One television on Wednesday that yesterday a statement was approved in Geneva after a session of the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey, and the list of persons who may become part of the Constitutional Committee was relayed,” the diplomat reminded the audience.

 ‘Stab in the Back’

on the other hand, the armed Kurdish-led coalition that compromises the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has commented on the US’ decision to withdraw its troops from Syria, calling the move “a stab in the back,” Sky News Arabia reported on Wednesday, citing an SDF representative.

“This is a betrayal and a stab in the back,” Sky News Arabia cited the SDF representative as saying.

At the same time, The National newspaper reported that Kurdish forces had not received notice regarding US President Donald Trump’s move to pull American troops from Syria.

‘Russia wins’: Fury in Washington as Trump announces withdrawal from Syria

President Donald Trump’s decision to declare ISIS defeated and order a full US withdrawal from Syria has been met with anger and disbelief by the Washington establishment that hoped for “regime change” in Damascus, RT reported.

CNN’s Jake Tapper reacted to the announcement by quoting an anonymous Pentagon official who saw it as a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hillary Clinton’s former foreign policy adviser Jesse Lehrich bemoaned that the withdrawal would embolden Syrian government and strengthen Russia and Iran, while leaving the US-allied Kurdish militias“once again hung out to dry.”

Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida), known as a foreign policy hawk, also disagreed with a withdrawal, calling it a “colossal” mistake and a “grave error that’s going to have significant repercussions in the years and months to come.”

Another foreign policy hawk, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) said the pullout would be “a huge Obama-like mistake,” enabling the revival of IS and putting the Kurds at “risk”.

The Washington Post’s foreign policy editor Jackson Diehl wondered how Trump’s national security adviser John Bolton felt about the withdrawal, given his recent statements about the US staying in Syria as long as any Iranian-backed forces were there, meaning indefinitely.

 H.M