Trump says not 'reversing course' on troops in Syria

US President Donald Trump says he is not changing his decision about the withdrawal of American troops from Syria despite reports that 400 troops will stay in the war-stricken country.

In December, Trump ordered his commanders to execute a "full" and "rapid" withdrawal of American forces from Syria within 30 days, claiming that Daesh had been defeated there.

PressTV-Trump signals US troop withdrawal from Syria

Trump has declared victory against Daesh terrorists in Syria as reports suggest that he is planning to pull out American troops from the country.

On Thursday, however, White House Press Secretary Sarah H. Sanders said that “a small peace keeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for (a) period of time."

A day after, a senior administration official said roughly 400 US troops will remain indefinitely in the country.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said Friday, "I am not reversing course," calling the number of troops, who will stay in Syria, "a very small tiny fraction" of the 2,000 forces serving there.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country.

US not drawing down its troops in South Korea

Trump also said that drawing down American troops in South Korea was not on the table during his second summit with North Korea's Kim Jong-un.

"No, it's not. That is not one of the things on the table," Trump said when asked if he would consider withdrawing some of the 28,500 troops from South Korea.

Trump had said that he would meet with Kim in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27 and 28.

PressTV-Trump: Summit with N Korea's Kim will be in Hanoi

President Trump says his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will take place in Hanoi.

In their first summit last year, the two leaders reached a vague denuclearization agreement. The ensuing talks between the two sides have had little progress since then.

North Korea has complained that the US has done little to reciprocate for its actions so far to dismantle some weapons facilities and freeze its weapons testing.

Pyongyang has denounced what it called US "gangster-like behavior", saying Washington has betrayed the spirit of the June summit by making unilateral demands on the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization, while keeping the sanctions in place.

Tension between Pakistan, India ‘very dangerous’

On Friday, Trump also talked about the increasing tension between Pakistan and India, saying, "It's very dangerous situation between the two countries."

"Right now there is a lot of problems between India and Pakistan because of what happened," he added.

The tension came after the Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), one of the several armed outfits fighting Indian rule over Kashmir, took responsibility for a deadly car bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

At least 44 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed and dozens more wounded after a bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a military convoy in Kashmir on February 14.

PressTV-Car bomb kills dozens of Indian troops in Kashmir

At least 44 people have been killed and several others wounded after a car filled with explosives rammed into an Indian military convoy in Kashmir.

Following the incident, India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale called Pakistan’s Ambassador to New Delhi Sohail Mahmood, and “issued a very strong demarche in connection with the terrorist attack in Pulwama.”

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