CIA in Syria Programme halted after Putin meeting

President Trump has decided to halt a covert CIA programme to arm and train rebels fighting Bashar alassad’s regime in Syria, a move Russia has long pushed for. The programme had been established by Barack Obama in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to relinquish power.

Mr Trump is reported to have made the decision nearly a month ago, after an Oval Office meeting with H.R. Mcmaster, national security adviser and Mike Pompeo, CIA director.

But the revelation comes just days after Mr Trump’s meeting with President Vladimir Putin, who backs the Syrian regime.

The US president had hinted before coming to office that he would abandon support for the opposition, instead concentrating US efforts on “annihilating” Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).