Russia:

US Striving to Divide Syria, Trigger War of All-Against-All

TEHRAN (defapress)- Head of the Main Operations Department at Russia’s General Staff Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi said at the Moscow Conference on Global Security on Wednesday that the United States seeks to trigger a new large-scale all-against-all war in Syria.

News ID: 69549

Date: 05 April 2018 - 13:29

"The United States is set to divide Syria. It has been laying potential groundwork for a new all-against-all war," he said, Middle East News reported.

America is trying to create in Syria a quasi-state on the Eastern bank of Euphrates having its own armed forces, Rudskoi assumed.

"Utterly unacceptable are the United States’ attempts at creating a quasi-state on the Eastern bank of the Euphrates. We see that in these areas not only US-controlled bodies of power are being created, but their own armed forces formed," Rudskoi told the 7th Moscow conference on International Security.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said US army units in the Syrian Democratic Forces-held part of Deir Ezzur province "resist the restoration of Syrian government institutions."

Deputy Minister of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic Mahmoud Shawa emphasized that the United States wants to maintain a military presence in Syria in order to establish control over oil fields and divide the country.

"The United States decided to invent various pretexts to justify keeping the illegal presence of their bases and troops on Syrian soil with the goal of establishing control and domination over oil fields and dividing Syria through the so-called federation project," he said.

The Syrian army has destroyed about 65,000 terrorists with support from Russia and Iran during the war in its country, Rudskoi pointed out.

"The Syrian government forces have liberated a total of about 113,000 square km and 1,245 communities from illegal armed groups with support from Russia and Iran. About 65,000 militants have been destroyed," he said at the seventh Moscow International Security Conference that is being held on April 4-5.

In addition, 6,500 hectares and about 17,200 facilities were cleared from mines in Syria by combined efforts. Security was provided for more than 260 UN aid convoys.