© AFP 2018/ AHMAD AL-RUBAYE
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on the situation in Eastern Ghouta and the US military presence in Syria.
Moscow is concerned by Washington's plans to fortify its military presence in Syria at the US military base in al-Tanf, as heavy military equipment is arriving, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.
"We are still concerned about reports that the United States and its allies are
consolidating their illegal military presence in the territory of sovereign Syria. In particular, heavy military equipment is arriving to the zone established by the United States around the settlements of al-Tanf in the southeast of the country," Zakharova told a briefing.
The
US military base is located in the border town of al-Tanf,
where troops of the armed Syrian opposition are trained and equipped. The Al-Rukban refugee camp is located in the "security zone" next to the US military base al-Tanf; it was illegally deployed in April 2017 under the pretext of fighting terrorists.
At the end of November last year, the head of the Russian Center for the reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria, Lieutenant-General Sergei Kuralenko, reported that the US, having closed the 55-kilometer zone around the US base in the Syrian city of al-Tanf, had isolated more than 50,000 people in need of humanitarian assistance. Russia then proposed to the command of a group of US troops in al-Tanf to jointly ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the refugees. The coalition, led by the United States, agreed to help, but said that it had not received confirmation that Syrian authorities were ready to allow convoys to pass.
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