JAKARTA - The United States will reduce its military presence in Syria from eight to one base. US policies will change in that country.
This was conveyed by the new US special envoy appointed by President Donald Trump, Thomas Barrack.
The US military has about 2,000 US troops in Syria, mostly in the northeast.
They teamed up with local forces to prevent the rise of ISIS, which in 2014 seized large parts of Iraq and Syria but was later repelled.
Since the rebels toppled former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, the United States and other countries have been re-engaged with Damascus under Ahmed al-Sharaa's new leadership.
Barrack, who is also the US ambassador to Turkey, raised the American flag over the ambassador's residence in Damascus last week for the first time since 2012.
"What I can assure you is that our current Syrian policy will not approach Syria's policy for the last 100 years, because none of this policy has succeeded," Barrack said.
Reduced the number of bases from eight to one, Barrack emphasized, an important part of the change.
Two security sources at the base where US troops were stationed told Reuters in April that military equipment and vehicles had been removed from eastern Deir el-Zor and were being consolidated in Hasakah province.
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One source said the consolidation plan involved the withdrawal of all US troops from Deir province el-Zor.
Barrack said the Syrian Democratic Forces Kurdish (SDF) were US allies and a very important factor for the US Congress and directed them to integrate into the new Syrian government was also very important.
"Everyone should be reasonable in their expectations," he said.
SDF is a major ally in the US coalition against ISIS militants in Syria. The SDF is spearheaded by the YPG militia, which Ankara considers an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The PKK decided to disband last month after a 40-year conflict with the Turkish state.
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