Sarah Sanders: It’s ‘Ridiculous’ to Say Putin is ‘Happy’ Over Syria Withdrawal (He Is)
"The idea that Putin is happy about this is ridiculous," says @PressSec when asked about the Russian president's reaction to Trump's decision to withdraw US forces from Syria. "It puts them at a greater risk," she says, "so I think that's just silly." pic.twitter.com/rHrTHQk6BO
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) December 21, 2018
Sarah Huckabee Sanders is actively denying the news that Vladimir Putin is delighted by President Trump‘s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria.
The press secretary held a scrum with reporters outside the White House on Friday morning, during which she was asked “what message does it send the Putin cheers the president and his own defense secretary [James Mattis] is upset about it?”
“The idea that Putin is happy about this is ridiculous,” Sanders responded. “He’s not. This puts a greater emphasis and makes them have to actually step up and do something, and do more in the region. It puts them at a greater risk. So I think that’s just silly.”
Sander’s claim comes a day after Putin, who is allied with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, told journalists in Moscow that the U.S. “would be right” to withdraw forces from the region.
“On this, Donald is right. I agree with him,” Putin said.
Trump, meanwhile, is claiming Russia isn’t happy with the pullout.
Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2018
One person who isn’t happy with the pullout is Mattis, who pushed back against the withdrawal in the last few days before slamming Trump in his resignation letter.
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