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US National Security Advisor John Bolton claims that Russia is “struck” in Syria and the US has an upper hand in negotiations on the conflict.
“The Russians are stuck there at the moment,” Bolton said during an interview with Reuters while on a visit to Israel. “We’re going see what we and others can agree in terms of resolving the conflict in Syria. But the one prerequisite there is the withdrawal of all Iranian forces back to Iran.”
Bolton added that Moscow is now “looking for others to fund post-war reconstruction” in Syria. Bolton described this as “an opportunity for Washington to press for Iranian forces to quit” the war-torn country.
In response Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed Bolton’s remarks.
“It is not correct for anyone, let alone our counterparts in Washington, to claim that Russia has stuck up someplace,” Peskov said according to TASS. “Let us not forget that US military personnel is present on Syrian soil, too.”
According to Syrian experts, remarks by Bolton are an example of wishful thinking. Since the very start of the Russian operation in Syria, the MSM and the Washington establishment have repeatedly claimed that the conflict in Syria will become a “second Afghanistan” for Russia. However, the situation has appeared to be very different to what the US was expecting.
