Macron regrets that US withdraws from Syria: “ally should be reliable”

Emmanuel Macron questions the reliability of the United States as an ally in the coalition in Syria. President Donald Trump decided last week to withdraw US troops from that country. The French president now makes it clear that he regrets this choice during a visit to French troops in Chad.

“An ally should be reliable,” says Macron. “I deeply regret that decision.”

The approximately 2,000 American soldiers who were still in Syria will immediately return home. Trump also stops air strikes on Islamic State in the Middle East. The United States led an international coalition in Syria and Iraq in recent years to eliminate the terrorist organization.

During a joint press conference, the French head of state reaffirmed his country’s commitment to strengthen the fight against Boko Haram.

He announced that 55 million euros should be released by the European Union. His Chadian counterpart, for his part, said that the G5 Sahel force had received about 150 million euros out of the 400 million pledged by the international community.

The Chadian president said that this multinational force will start, one-off operations against jihadists, next month.