US forces and their proxies are in the At Tanf area
A safe zone created by the US in Syria helps ISIS terrorists to escape from government forces, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakarova said during the weekly briefing on February 8. She added that the US military presence is a serious challenge to a peace process in the war-torn country.
“A 55-kilometer zone unilaterally created by Americans around their military base near al-Tanf is being used by the scattered units of Daesh [ISIS] terrorists,” Zakarova said.
He said that the terrorists use this zone to hide from government forces as well as to regroup and prepare for new attacks.
Earlier on the same day, Russian Ambassador to Damascus Alexander Kinshchak said that the US may prepare more military actions against the Syrian government aiming to undermine the peace process.
“In recent days, the topic of the use of sarin and chlorine by government forces in East Ghouta and Idlib has been actively revitalized. Given the sad experience of Khan Sheikhoun, it cannot be ruled out that in this way a new force action is being prepared against Syria in order to support the defeated militants and undermine the positive progress in the political settlement process that emerged after the successful holding of the Congress of the Syrian national dialogue in Sochi,” Kinshchak said, according to the Russian state-run news agency Sputnik.
He added that Washington is pushing for more anti-Syrian sanctions via the United States, the move that would violate the Syrian sovereignty.
Kinshchak also slammed the US approach towards alleged chemical attacks in Syria. He said that Washington is using the Syrian chemical dossier in the campaign against Syria and Russia and any positive changes in the situation are unlikely.
“For the West, this is an important card in its consistently anti-Syrian, and now also an anti-Russian game. [It is] a tool for constant pressure on Damascus and its allies, primarily Moscow. A tool to manipulate the world public opinion through the demonization of ‘Bashar Assad’s criminal regime.’ A proven and fairly effective way to influence impressionable ordinary people who are brainwashed by all leading Western media,” he said. “It is concerning that Washington’s rhetoric in this regard is becoming more belligerent. It seems that they do not proceed from specific incidents involving the use of poisonous substances, but from rumors, more precisely — from deliberately spread disinformation.”
