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Tillerson Signals Open-Ended U.S. Military Presence In Syria

January 17, 2018

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said that the U.S. military will remain in Syria for the foreseeable future to prevent the resurgence of the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

In a speech at Stanford University, Tillerson said on January 17 that the United States would also work toward securing a successful peace process to end Syria's civil war, getting President Bashar Assad to exit from power, and curtailing Iran's influence in the country.

He insisted that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration will not repeat President Barack Obama's "mistake" when he withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011.

Iran, along with Russia, has given Assad's government crucial support throughout the conflict in which hundreds of thousands of people were killed since it began with a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011.

On North Korea, Tillerson praised China for its efforts in putting pressure on Pyongyang, adding that Washington was getting evidence that international sanctions were "really starting to hurt" Pyongyang.

He also expressed evidence that pressure would eventually bring North Korea to the negotiating table over its nuclear and missile programs.

Meanwhile, Trump accused Russia of undermining sanctions against North Korea and weakening efforts to curb its nuclear weapons program.

"Russia is not helping us at all with North Korea," Trump told Reuters news agency.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tillerson- signal-open-ended-us-military-presence -in-syria/28981454.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.