U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien said on Wednesday the U.S. would not commit troops to defuse tensions in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province in spite of appeals to do so.
“That’s a very difficult situation. Some folks suggested that we stop the fighting, but we are not going to drop the 101st (Airborne Division) in the middle of Russian, Syrian, Iranian, al-Qaida, Turkish, Syrian defence forces,’’ O’Brien said.
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O’Brien, who made the statement at the Heritage Foundation added, “that’s not something we are going to commit American troops to at this point.’’
He, however, promised that the U.S. would continue to support Turkey on the humanitarian front “with the refugee crisis they are facing.’’
O’Brien noted that the U.S. was militarily present in Syria’s eastern and southern regions in support of the Kurds and neighbouring Israel and Jordan.
“We are feeling like we are doing a lot in Syria,’’ he added.
O’Brien suggested that the recent escalation of fighting in Idlib had taught Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that relying on Russia as a partner and ally may not always be the best idea especially in the place like Syria.