Photo taken from southern Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar on Oct. 10, 2019 shows smoke rising from the northern Syrian city of Ras al-Ain during an attack launched by Turkish army. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
"Syria must be free from other states' military presence. And the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic must be completely restored," Putin said.
MOSCOW, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- All foreign military forces illegally stationed in Syria must withdraw from the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview published on Saturday.
"All the forces deployed illegitimately inside any sovereign state - in this case Syria - must leave," Putin told RT Arabic, Sky News Arabia and Al-Arabiya ahead of his tour to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday and Tuesday.
Russia will pull its troops out of Syria as well if Damascus does not need Moscow's help anymore, Putin was quoted by RT as saying.
"Syria must be free from other states' military presence. And the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic must be completely restored," Putin said, adding that he had openly discussed the issue with Iranian, Turkish and U.S. partners. ■
