Russia: US move to control Syrian oil fields 'banditry'
Tehran (KNA) - Russia has slammed as "banditry" plans by the United States to deploy more forces in Syria, accusing the administration of President Donald Trump of seeking to seize the Arab country's oil resources under false pretexts.
Trump and Pentagon chief Mark Esper confirmed Thursday that, while Washington was pulling some troops out of Syria following Turkey's military incursion into northern parts of the country, it was still sending in additional troops to ensure oil facilities in eastern Syria would not fall into the wrong hands.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said Saturday that Washington was basically moving in to take over the oil fields.
"What Washington is doing now, the seizure and control of oil fields in eastern Syria under its armed control, is, quite simply, international state banditry," he said in a statement.
He said Syria's oil belonged to Syrians only, and not the Daesh terrorists or Washington.
"All hydrocarbon deposits and other minerals located on the territory of Syria do not belong to the IS terrorists, and even less to the 'American defenders from IS terrorists,' but exclusively to the Syrian Arab Republic," Konashenkov added.
Source: PressTV