Moscow slams ‘illegal’ US presence in Syria

Russia has reminded the US that its presence in Syria is illegal after the coalition struck pro-government militias. Washington however reserved the right for “defensive” attacks to achieve peace “from a position of strength.”

The US presence in Syria is “actually illegal,” the Russian Ambassador to the UN reminded his Western counterparts on Thursday at a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council. “Nobody invited them there,” Vasily Nebenzya stated, emphasizing that a hard fought for stability in Syria is being jeopardized by US actions.

On Wednesday, the US-led coalition said it carried out several “defensive” airstrikes on Syrian forces in Deir Ez-Zor province in retaliation for what they described as an “unprovoked” attack on the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and foreign military “advisers.”

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Syrian militia unit was advancing against a “sleeper cell” of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists near the former oil processing plant of al-Isba, when it suddenly came under massive air strikes. At least 25 militiamen were injured in the attack, the Russian MoD noted, clarifying that pro-government troops targeted by the coalition did not coordinate their operation with the Russian command.

The US, however, maintains that the militia attacked the SDF. The Pentagon said Syrian forces moved “in a battalion-sized unit formation, supported by artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars.” The battle which lasted over three hours, the US claims, began after 30 artillery tank rounds landed within 500 meters of the SDF unit’s location.

“At the start of the unprovoked attack on Syrian Democratic Forces and coalition advisers, coalition aircraft, including F-22A Raptors and MQ-9B Reapers, were overhead providing protective overwatch, defensive counter air and [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] support as they have 24/7 throughout the fight to defeat ISIS,” Air Forces Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart told Military.com.

“Following a call for support from Air Force Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, a variety of joint aircraft and ground-based artillery responded in defense of our SDF partners, including F-15E Strike Eagles,” he said in a statement Thursday. “These aircraft released multiple precision-fire munitions and conducted strafing runs against the advancing aggressor force, stopping their advance and destroying multiple artillery pieces and tanks.”

Damascus called the attack a “war crime,” while the Russian military asserted that Washington’s true goal is to capture “economic assets” in Syria. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova affirmed that the US military presence in Syria poses a dangerous threat to the political process and territorial integrity of the country, while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the strike another violation of Syria’s sovereignty by the US.

The US, however, remained unmoved, promising to continue to support the US-allied forces in Syria at any cost. “We continue to support SDF with respect to defeating ISIS... ISIS is still there, and our mission is still to defeat ISIS,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said Thursday. “We will continue to support them. Our goal is to ensure that our diplomats can negotiate from a position of strength, with respect to the Geneva process.”

“They [US] constantly assert that they are fighting international terrorism there, but we see that they go beyond this framework,” Nebenzya told the UNSC. He warned the US-led coalition members that it is “criminal” to engage the only forces “who actually fight” international terrorism in Syria.

"Washington's True Purpose": Russia's Defense Ministry Accuses the US of Intending to Capture "Economic Assets" in Syria


The US military intends to seize state-owned "economic assets" in Syria. This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

The military department told that on Wednesday, February 7, one of the units of the people's volunteer corps of pro-government forces conducted reconnaissance and search operations in the area of ​​the former oil refinery El Isba. The goal was to identify and destroy the "sleeping cell" of the terrorist group "Islamic State".

"In carrying out the task, militiamen were suddenly bombarded with mortars and MLRS, after which they were hit by helicopters of the US-led international coalition. As a result of the shelling, 25 Syrian militiamen were injured, "the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

After the negotiations of the Russian command with representatives of the coalition, the American side stated that "the oil refinery is under the control of the Syrian democratic forces and US military personnel."

It is noted that the reason for the incident was the reconnaissance and search operations of the Syrian militia, which were not coordinated with the command of the Russian task force. Deir ez-Zor does not have Russian servicemen in the area.

"At the same time, the incident showed once again that the real goal of continuing to illegally find US forces in Syria is not to fight against the international terrorist group Igil, but to seize and retain under their control economic assets belonging only to the Syrian Arab Republic," - stressed in the department.

On the eve of the press service of the operation headquarters "Unshakable determination" reported that the US-led coalition opened fire on the pro-government forces of Syria after they attacked the headquarters of the Syrian democratic forces. The coalition argues that they attacked the people's militias "to repel an act of aggression against their partners."

The coalition stated that it concentrated on confronting the Islamic state militants in the Euphrates River valley, stressing that they retain the "immutable right to act in self-defense".

According to a CNN source, an attack on the positions of pro-government forces was carried out by about 500 servicemen with the support of T-54 and T-72 tanks, as well as mortar fire. The victims of the attack could be about 100 people.

According to the interlocutor CNN, the coalition suspects pro-government forces in an attempt to seize oil fields in Deir ez-Zor.

"The state of instability is maintained artificially"

It is difficult to understand what the US-led coalition is trying to achieve in Syria, said Alexander Gusev, director of the Institute for Strategic Planning, in an interview with RT.

"The situation that is now taking shape within the framework of the participation of the US armed forces in Syria is quite complicated. Honestly, it is not very clear what they want to achieve. The coalition led by the United States said that it struck at the government forces of Assad, as the headquarters of the Syrian democratic forces was attacked ... But on the other hand, the United States keeps saying that they are fighting against IG, organizations such as "Jabhat an- Nusra "**, as well as their subdivisions. There is a question to the American political establishment, how long will they use double standards, "the expert said.

According to Major-General of the US Army in the resignation of Paul Vallely, the US authorities are trying to dislodge Bashar Assad and form a new government in Syria headed by another leader.

"Russia supports Assad. Moscow and Washington can solve this problem if they sit at the negotiating table with all the participants in the Syrian conflict. This should be not only the supporters of the Assad government, but also the remnants of the best part of the Free Syrian Army, as well as Kurds in the north and east of the country. Until this happens, the conflict will continue, "Vallely said.

The illegal military presence of the United States in Syria is a serious challenge to the peace process in the country and the preservation of its unity, said Russian MFA spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

"The illegal armed presence of the United States remains a serious challenge when moving towards peace in Syria and preserving its unity, territorial integrity," Zakharova said during the weekly briefing.

According to her, the presence in the south of the country, unilaterally created by the Americans, of a 55-kilometer zone around the military base in the vicinity of Al-Tanf is used by remnants of IG fighters.

"The emerging situation shows, according to Russian estimates, that the state of instability in Syria is largely artificially maintained. Some influential external players clearly do not use the opportunities they have to promote a political settlement in Syria and the final elimination of terrorists, "the official spokesman for the Defense Ministry said.

The incident with an attack on government forces creates great difficulties in the negotiation process, Gusev said.

"After the Syrian National Congress held in Sochi, we approached the creation of a new Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic. But the US is doing everything to neutralize the results of negotiations, "the expert concluded.