Syrian FM Predicts End of Illegal US Presence in Syria

The Syrian foreign minister foresees the end of the illegal presence of the U.S. forces in northeastern Syria and assures that the Army will soon recover the occupied areas. 

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"The end of the illegal presence of the U.S. troops in the Al-Jazira region is near, and the occupied territories will return to the control of the Syrian government," Faisal al-Miqdad said in an interview aired Wednesday on local television.

He called on the Kurdish-Arab militia, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to drop its allegiance to the United States, arguing that the U.S. occupiers will have to leave Syrian territory sooner or later.

Elsewhere in the interview, the top diplomat said Damascus was determined to regain the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, before reiterating Syria's unwavering support for the Palestinian cause. He condemned Israeli attacks on Syrian territory and praised the Syrian armed forces for not leaving a single Israeli aggression on the Arab country unanswered.

Al-Miqdad further called on the United Nations and all countries to fulfill their responsibility to support the Syrian government's efforts to combat terrorism and restore peace and stability in the war-torn Arab country.

Washington has at least a dozen bases in Syria, mostly in the oil and gas fields in the northeastern region of Al-Jazira, mainly in the province of Al-Hasaka.

 The U.S. intervened militarily in 2014 in the Levantine country under the pretext of fighting the Daesh terrorist group, but, Daesh took control of the oil-rich northern parts of the Levantine country. 
Washington claims that its presence in the oil fields is aimed at protecting the oil fields from Daesh terrorists. 

Syria, which has never authorized the presence of the U.S. Army on its territory, accuses Washington of stealing its resources and seeking to renew the structure of Daesh, and therefore demands the departure of the illegal foreign troops from Syrian soil.

Since 2011, Syria has been the scene of conflict between the Syrian government, headed by Bashar al-Assad, and foreign-backed takfiri groups. After more than eleven years of conflict, the Syrian Army currently controls more than 90% of the country's soil.