The Pentagon Monday voiced skepticism about Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that he had ordered the partial withdrawal of troops from Syria.
Putin visited the war-torn nation Monday and said a "significant part" of the Russian troop contingent in Syria is heading home after their mission had been largely completed.
But Pentagon spokesman Maj. Adrian Rankine-Galloway said such declarations were not necessarily reflected by action.
"Russian comments about removal of their forces do not often correspond with actual troop reductions, and do not affect U.S. priorities in Syria," he said.
A U.S. official told AFP that Putin was likely to carry out a "token withdrawal" of some aircraft, then follow up by demanding the United States pulls its forces out of Syria.
The U.S. military last week said it would stay in Syria, where it is fighting Daesh (ISIS), as long as necessary to ensure the extremists don't return.
The "coalition will continue to operate in Syria in support of local forces on the ground to complete the military defeat of [Daesh] and stabilize liberated territory, in turn allowing for displaced Syrians and refugees to return," Rankine-Galloway said.
Syria's conflict began in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but quickly spiraled into a bitter and complex civil war, with Daesh just one element.
The open-ended U.S. commitment in Syria is likely to rile Russia, which since late 2015 has conducted a separate military campaign to prop up the regime of President Bashar Assad.
The size of the Russian deployment in Syria is not known, but independent Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer has told AFP that up to 10,000 troops and private contractors could have taken part in the conflict.
AFP
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