Alwaght- All foreign forces staying in Syria without an invitation from Damascus must leave the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday in reaction to a statement by US National Security Adviser John Bolton.
"All foreign forces staying there without an invitation from the Syrian government must be eventually withdrawn," Lavrov told reporters.
Bolton, who will meet with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev in Geneva on August 23, said he was ready to discuss with Moscow aspects of the Syrian settlement but on condition the Iranian forces would be sent back to Iran.
Meanwhile, The Kremlin regards as incorrect US presidential national security adviser John Bolton’s remark Russia is allegedly stuck in Syria, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media.
"It is not correct for anyone, let alone our counterparts in Washington, to claim that Russia has stuck someplace," he said. "Let us not forget that US military personnel is present on Syrian soil, too. This should be born in mind."
Peskov said Russia "plays a very active role in saving Syria from international terrorism, from the ISIS terrorist group and other terrorist groups and in putting Syria on the track of political and diplomatic settlement."
"Also, Russia actively promotes the return of refugees to Syria and the beginning of the country’s postwar reconstruction," he added.
Earlier, Bolton told Reuters in an interview during his three-day visit to the Israeli entity that Russia was "stuck" in Syria at the moment.
Russia has been lending aerial support to Syria’s counter-terrorism operations since September 2015.
The US and its allies have been bombarding what they call ISIS positions inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate.
