Russia’s Putin slams presence of foreign troops in Syria
DAMASCUS, Syria – Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the presence of foreign troops in Syria on Tuesday, saying they are there illegally and are blocking the consolidation of the war-torn country. Putin was referring to hundreds of U.S. troops stationed in eastern Syria and working with Kurdish-led fighters in battling the Islamic State group, as well as Turkish forces in northern Syria. He said the presence is illegal because they don’t have permission to be there from the UN or Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.