Washington, Baghdad agree on US troops withdrawal from Syria via Iraq

Baghdad and Washington have reached an agreement allowing US troops to be withdrawn from Syria via Iraqi territory, Chief of Staff and Adviser to the Iraqi prime minister Abdulkarim Hashim Mostafa told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"They (the troops) will pass through Iraqi territory. Of course, there is an agreement between Iraq and the US, our friend and ally, that they will leave Syria soon and they will go through Iraqi territory with the permission of the Iraqi authorities," he said.

Washington assured Baghdad that the withdrawal of American troops from Syria will be completed once they finish their military operation East of the Euphrates, and it won't later than April 1, Mostafa stressed.

"Not later than the first of April, everything must be done before this time, this is what the United States told us. As soon as their operation in Eastern Euphrates and Banguze is completed, they will begin to withdraw," Mostafa stated on the sidelines of the West Asia conference organized by the Valdai international discussion club.

In December, US President Donald Trump said he would withdraw some 2,000 US troops currently deployed in Syria without the central government’s permission. Damascus considered the US as an occupier.

EA