Russia has demanded the US pull troops out of Syria in a dire warning against Washington, as Moscow increases to roll-out withdrawal plans for the region.
The US is facing increasing pressure from Russia and Iran to withdraw their troops from Syria, as tensions continue to rise in the war-torn region.
Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Monday: “We insist that the United States should fulfil its pledge and fully withdraw from Syria. Moscow’s warning comes a day after Iran threatened to strike US bases if Washington fails to fully withdraw its military from Damascus.
On Sunday, Iran’s Deputy Defence Minister Reza Talai-Nik warned that “all US bases there are within the range of our cross-border weapons, and if these fail, we’ll strike them from within Iran”, according to reports by state-run Tasnim News Agency.
On December 19, US President Donald Trump announces plans to pull Washington troops out of Syria after claiming the ISIS-strong hold was “defeated”.
Mr Trump said at the time: “We have won against ISIS.
“Our boys, they’re all coming back and they’re coming back now.”
However, the US Government did not announce a specific timeline to fully withdraw their troops.
US troops have been inside Syria since 2015 aiding the fight against ISIS.
Last week, a senior aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Ali Akbar Velayati, said: Whether they want to or not, the Americans must leave Syria.