Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has commented on the recent developments in Syria, including the issue of US military presence in the country and its support of Kurdish factions.

“It is clear that the United States has some strategy which I believe entails staying in Syria forever with its armed forces … They are gearing up for separating a huge part of Syria from the rest of the country, violating Syria’s sovereignty of territorial integrity. There they will create quasi-local authorities, will try to create autonomy based on the Kurds,” Lavrov told Euronews.

The Russian Foreign Minister has added that the US aims to entrench militarily in Syria with an ultimate goal of staying there “for ages.” He stressed that Washington has deployed its forces in the war-torn country without a sanction from the United Nations of a request from legitimate Syrian government in Damascus.

Lavrov’s interview follows a statement from Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said on Thursday that the US had in fact created an “occupation” zone in the al-Tanf area. She added the US-controlled area was used by the remains of ISIL militants.

She also stressed that the US military “entered into a virtually open confrontation with the Syrian army” by openly supporting allied Kurdish militants.

Source: Sputnik