President Trump brought up the idea of pulling U.S. troops out of Syria during a private meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan this week, according to two diplomatic sources familiar with the meeting.
The two discussed the idea of Trump making a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin that will allow the U.S. to “get out ASAP,” the sources told CNN.
According to senior military officials, Trump has not given any sort of timeline on pulling out, despite his March comments that the U.S. would “be coming out of Syria like very soon.”
But sources said Trump is weighing the option of allowing Russia to help the Assad regime take back the so-called exclusion zone in southwest Syria. In exchange, Trump would seek Russian assurances that Syria will not target U.S.-backed rebels in the region.
It was announced Thursday that Trump and Putin will be meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 16 for their first bilateral meeting.
