Turkish FM doesn't rule out US troop withdrawal from Syria under Trump

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told journalists that the Republican administration in the US may practically implement the withdrawal of American troops from Syria, as their presence there hinders the US itself, Report informs via TASS.

"In fact, the presence of 800 soldiers in Syria doesn't bring much benefit to the US. On the contrary, their presence in the region only interferes with American military operations. Because any actions against Iranian militias or Iran result in these American soldiers in Syria and Iraq becoming targets. They are effectively hostages there. And this constantly creates escalation. Democrats in the USA faced difficulties withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and didn't want to experience the same in Syria. Now Republicans are in power. They will have the opportunity to implement this plan [of troop withdrawal]. My assessment is that positive steps can be taken on this issue," said Fidan.

He reminded that the administration of elected US President Donald Trump in his first term "tried to withdraw soldiers from Syria but faced opposition from military officials."

"The issue of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was also on the Republicans' agenda then, but the resolution of the issue passed to the Democrats. And they couldn't carry out the withdrawal properly. This resulted in major political costs," added Fidan.