Putin Reiterates Illegality Of US Troops Deployment In Syria

The deployment of the US forces in Syria has been illegal since their presence has been authorized neither by Damascus nor by Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2019) The deployment of the US forces in Syria has been illegal since their presence has been authorized neither by Damascus nor by Washington, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at a joint press conference with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The US servicemen remain on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic illegally. There are no any internationally legitimate reasons for them to be present there.

They have been invited neither by the legitimate government nor by the decision of the UN Security Council," Putin said.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups as well as militant and terrorist organizations. In 2014, the US-led coalition of over 70 states launched its military operation against the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia) in Syria, which was not authorized by Damascus.