Putin Says US Should Leave the Syrian People To Determine Their Own Destiny

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Washington to leave the Syrian people and end its illegal occupation by the US. He charged that the US was stealing oil after he met with the Iranian and Turkish leaders at a summit in Tehran.

The US Should Stop Syrian Occupation

The three Astana Process backers also concurred that the US should relinquish territory it has illegally occupied in the trans-Euphrates region and stop using unilateral sanctions to exacerbate Syria's humanitarian situation, reported RT.

Last Thursday night, Putin stated that the US is robbing Syria and its people of its natural resources as its own and exporting what is not theirs. The trilateral alliance of Russia, Iran, and Turkey condemned this atrocity as their position, noted Almanar.

Several hundred US forces are illegally present in Syria, primarily controlling the oil wells and wheat fields in the country's northeast held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia after Islamic State's defeat (IS, formerly ISIS).

US-backed SDF has rejected attempts to reunite with the Damascus government, which Washington wants to be toppled, citing the Press United.

Through the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, Washington has sought to penalize anyone attempting to support the rehabilitation of the Syrian people since 2019, charging President Bashar Assad's government with war crimes and prohibiting any aid from entering Damascus.

According to Putin, such sanctions have had detrimental consequences, and assistance for the Syrian people should not be manipulated even by Washington, he said on Tuesday.

At the summit in Tehran, Putin met with Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Ebrahim Raisi of Iran.

In a joint declaration, they called for the leadership of the UN as a solution. They urged the UN and other international organizations to increase support to all Syrians, sans prejudice, politics, or preconditions. It condemned the retaliatory measures, which are illegal under international law and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

At Damascus' request, Russia dispatched an expeditionary force to Syria in September 2015 to assist in the fight against ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

The Astana Process, named after Kazakhstan's capital city, was established in January 2017 by Moscow, Ankara, and Tehran to end the crisis in Syria, which broke out in 2011.

Damascus Recognizes DPR and LPR

On Wednesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry claimed that Damascus and Kyiv had severed diplomatic ties. Ukraine took the same step last month in reaction to Syria's acceptance of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to terminate diplomatic relations with Ukraine following the principle of reciprocity and in reaction to the Ukrainian government's decision to do so, according to the ministry's website.

In late June, Kyiv announced the termination of diplomatic relations with Syria in response to Damascus' willingness to follow Russia's example and acknowledge the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as autonomous republics.

Ukraine shuttered its embassy in Syria in 2016, condemning President Bashar Assad for crimes toward his own people, and demanded Syrian diplomats exited Ukraine in 2018.

Putin tells Washington to stop looting oil from the Syrian people in the guise of innocent reasons. The trilateral group says it is illegal and time for the UN to step in to stop this twisted interpretation of the US right to occupy a country unlawfully.