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US forces will keep control of Syrian oilfields: Pentagon

Friday, 08 November 2019 1:36 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 08 November 2019 2:17 AM ]

File photo of Syrian forces reorganizing before moving towards Hayyan oil field, east of the central Syrian Homs province on February 7, 2017. (AFP)

The Pentagon says American forces will keep control of the oilfields in northeastern Syria to fund the Kurdish militia.

Last week, the Pentagon raised international concern when it threatened to use “military force” against any party seeking to gain control of Syrian oilfields.

PressTV- ‘US to strike any party challenging its control of Syria oil’

The Pentagon threatens to use ‘military force’ against any group -- including Syrian and Russian forces -- seeking to challenge the US military’s occupation of oil fields in Syria.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters on Thursday that the United States wanted to give the revenue from these oilfields to support the Kurdish-led so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). "The revenue from this is not going to the US, this is going to the SDF," Hoffman declared.

Last month, US President Donald Trump said US troops would remain in Syria to "secure" the oilfields there. Damascus and the regional movers and shakers voiced their strong opposition to Trump's decision to seize Syrian oilfields.

PressTV-Iran, Russia oppose US seizure of Syria oil fields

The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia lash out at US plans to control oil fields in northeastern Syria and deny access to the Damascus government.

The Syrian government is regarded as the only legitimate entity to have the right to claim to the country's oil resources on behalf of the Arab nation.

Meanwhile, the US-backed anti-Damascus SDF forces are expected to gain the aforementioned revenue promised by the Pentagon by selling oil to Israel.

PressTV-'US-backed Kurds in Syria were seeking to sell oil to Israel'

Ex-US-backed Kurdish militants from the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria were seeking to sell oil to Israel, a report says.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he would talk to Trump about the role of the US-backed Kurdish militia next week during a one-on-one meeting.

It remains to be seen how Erdogan, who nurtures his own "expansionist ambitions and illusions", aims to tackle the regional conflict.

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