Collaborators of the White House have conveyed a message to Israel that US President Donald Trump plans to withdraw US troops from Syria. This was reported by the Israeli public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday. Trump’s plan “raises great concern in Israel”, according to the media outlet in a report.
Kurdish armed groups in Syria also fear an aggression by Turkey if the US withdraws, reported Kan. The Kurds, who were supported by the US in the fight against the “Islamic State” (IS, formerly ISIS), are considered terrorists by Ankara.
After the fall of the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad at the beginning of December, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) advanced deeper into the territory of the neighboring country on the occupied Golan Heights.
At the same time, Turkey ordered its troops, which maintain connections with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and other militant groups that were significantly involved in the fall of Assad, to advance into northeastern Syria – where the Kurdish-dominated SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) control wide areas of the region with the help of the US.
At the beginning of the month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had insisted that “aggressive actions” by Israel in Syria must be “ended as soon as possible”.
Russia, which has been supporting the Assad government since the mid-2010s in the fight against Islamic terrorist groups, currently maintains two military bases in Syria – the Hmeimim airbase and the Tartus naval base.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated earlier in the week that Moscow is holding talks with the new powers in the country about the future of the facilities, but no agreements have been reached yet.
The US had sent troops to Syria a decade ago under the pretext of fighting the IS, without the permission of the Syrian government. In the process, they occupied areas in the northeast of the country where important oil fields are located.
Last month, the Pentagon announced that around 2,000 US soldiers are stationed in the country, which is about 1,100 more than the previously reported number.
Trump had ordered the withdrawal of US troops from Syria during his first term, but the plan faced strong resistance within his administration and was never implemented. The Assad government and Moscow have repeatedly described the US military presence in Syria as “illegal”, as it occurred without the consent of Damascus and demanded the withdrawal of the US contingent from the occupied areas.