Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Trump made the right decision to withdraw from Syria, where the U.S. has clashed with Russian efforts to back Bashar Assad.
Trump announced the U.S. would leave after saying it has defeated the Islamic State in Syria. While many in the U.S. and several U.S. allies disagreed, Putin said Trump is correct.
“We’ve achieved considerable changes in the struggle against terrorism in that area and dealt severe blows to the Islamic State in Syria,” Putin said in his annual press conference in Moscow Thursday.
“Is the presence of U.S. troops necessary there?” Putin asked. “No, it is not.”
Putin said the presence of U.S. troops is “not legitimate” and was never sanctioned by the United Nations.
“In the meantime, a military contingent can stay there only under a U.N. resolution or at the invitation of Syria’s legitimate government,” Putin said. “We are in Syria at the government’s invitation. The United States has neither.”
Putin’s remarks came after many were calling Trump’s decision a victory for Russia, which has backed Assad’s effort to quell a civil war. Others have said it’s a victory for Iran — that country also sent soldiers to fight in Syria, which shares a border with Israel.
