Moscow, Damascus want American troops out of Syria

Moscow and Damascus have jointly called on Washington to end its military presence on Syrian soil and let Syrian government forces and allied Russian troops evacuate civilians from a refugee camp near Jordan.

A joint statement released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday urged “the United States, whose military units are on Syrian territory illegally, to leave the country.”

It also demanded that the American forces allow the evacuation of the people based in the Rukban refugee camp in southeastern Syria near Jordan’s border.

Russian and Syrian forces have prepared buses to relocate the refugees in Rukban and would guarantee them safe passage, the statement noted.

The United States maintains a military base in the nearby al-Tanf area at the intersection of the Syrian, Iraqi, and Jordanian borders.

Damascus objects to Washington’s military presence on its soil and has repeatedly brought its stated goal into question, amid recurrent reports of the US-led coalition’s attempts to help relocate terrorists around and out of Syria.

SS