Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he generally agreed with his US counterpart Donald Trump that the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) was defeated in Syria, but pointed to the danger of terrorists moving to neighboring regions
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2018) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he generally agreed with his US counterpart Donald Trump that the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) was defeated in Syria, but pointed to the danger of terrorists moving to neighboring regions.
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the IS terrorist group had been defeated in Syria, adding that this was the only reason for the United States to have been present in the middle Eastern country during his presidency. The White House confirmed this information, adding that this was a move toward a new phase of the counterterrorism campaign.
"As for the victory over the IS, in general, I agree with the US president. I have also said it, we have achieved significant changes in the fight on terror on that territory, and we dealt serious blows to the IS in Syria. There is a danger of these groups and those similar to them relocating to the neighboring regions, to Afghanistan, and other countries ... They [foreign fighters] are coming back to where they came from. This is a big danger for all of us," Putin said at the annual press conference.
Regarding the US troops' withdrawal from Syria, Putin pointed to the example of Afghanistan.
"As for the US troops' withdrawal from Syria, I don't know what it means. The United States has been present in, let's say, Afghanistan for 17 years, and almost every year, they say they are pulling out their troops. They are still there," Putin said.
The president added that there were no signs of US troops withdrawing yet.
"But I believe it is possible," Putin said.
