US National Security Adviser John Bolton says he has discussed a long-term military presence in Syria with his British and French counterparts, despite an order by President Donald Trump to evacuate American troops from the Arab country.

Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, Bolton was hopeful that Britain and France would also join the US efforts to prevent ISIL’s resurgence.

“It hasn’t happened formally yet, but they’re looking at it. I think it’s very important that we try and get this up. The ISIS threat, the al Qaeda threat, the terrorist threat is an ideological threat worldwide and it’s something that I think we have to be vigilant against for the foreseeable future,” he said using another acronym for ISIL.

Bolton reaffirmed President Donald Trump’s assessment of ISIL’s defeat in Syria but cautioned that the threat still persisted because members of the group were spread around the world.

“The president has been, I think, as clear as clear can be when he talks about the defeat of the ISIS territorial caliphate,” Bolton said. “He has never said that the elimination of the territorial caliphate means the end of ISIL in total.

“We know that’s not the case. We know right now that there are ISIS fighters scattered still around Syria and Iraq, and that ISIS itself is growing in other parts of the world. The ISIS threat will remain.”

The remarks once again highlight Washington’s shifting messages since Trump’s announcement of a swift withdrawal from Syria.