FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
Putin Welcomes Trump’s Proposed Troop Withdrawal from Syria; British Empire’s Allies Protest
Dec. 20, 2018 (EIRNS)—Speaking at his annual news conference today in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he agrees with U.S. President Donald Trump who said on Dec. 19 that the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) group removes the need for the U.S. military presence in the country. The Russian President said
“as for the victory over the Islamic State, I agree with the U.S. President by and large. We’ve achieved considerable changes in the struggle against terrorism in that area and dealt severe blows to the Islamic State in Syria.”
Putin’s welcoming of the U.S. troop withdrawal from Syria is in direct contrast to the British Empire’s allies, who have vented their anger against Trump for not allowing the U.S. troops to serve their purpose any longer. Britain’s Defense Ministry Undersecretary of State Tobias Ellwood, replied to Trump tweet that ISIS had been defeated in Syria with the words: “I strongly disagree. It has morphed into other forms of extremism and the threat is very much alive.”
From Paris, France’s Defense Minister Florence Parly wrote in two Twitter messages, reading as translated from French: “Daesh [ISIS] has been weakened more than ever. It has become clandestine in its rebel mode of fighting. Daesh has lost more than 90% of its territory. Daesh no longer has logistics it used to have.
“But Daesh has not been wiped from the map, nor has its roots. We must definitely defeat the last pockets of this terrorist organization militarily.” French Minister for European Affairs Nathalie Loiseau told CNews TV channel today that French troops will remain in Syria.
From Bonn, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas joined his voice with the French and the British saying “the abrupt change of course by the American side comes as a surprise not only for us.” Maas said that while IS has been pushed back, “the threat is not yet over.”
