According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the United States recently changed its mind on Syria's withdrawal. Trump changed his view that "the Islamic State has been abolished" and emphasized that without a withdrawal timetable, the U.S. military would withdraw slowly. Bolton, the assistant national security officer of the US president, pointed out more straightforwardly that the US military must defeat the "Islamic State" completely and ensure that Turkey's commitment not to harm the Kurdish armed forces will not begin to withdraw until all the conditions are met. Once again, the United States played a trick, directly angering its ally Turkey. Turkish President Erdogan simply refused to meet Bolton, who only had the opportunity to meet with Turkish President spokesman Carlin. On another occasion, Erdogan angrily criticized Bolton, claiming that Bolton's conditions had made a "serious mistake".

Obviously, as an ally of the United States, Turkey has been waiting for this day for a long time. No wonder Erdogan has a fever in his head and has chosen to believe in Trump's Twitter withdrawal plan. But Russia is much calmer than the impatient Turkey. On January 9, Russian Satellite News Agency reported that Sergei Riyabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, told the media that under the current situation, the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria was unthinkable. He stressed that the Washington government was frantically seeking global domination and meddling in regional affairs, so it was impossible to imagine a sudden and unconditional withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria.

In fact, this is not the first time that Riyabkov has questioned the U.S. withdrawal plan. On December 25, 2018, the Russian Satellite News Agency also reported on Ryabkov's comments on the U.S. withdrawal plan, when the Russian Vice Foreign Minister said he doubted that the U.S. might not fulfil its commitment to withdraw from Syria, or that the U.S. would at least delay the withdrawal plan. Riyabkov said that judging from his experience, the United States often "brakes" abruptly when making decisions with great impact. And Riyabkov also stressed that the withdrawal of U.S. troops did not enjoy the support of all allies, and that the decision caused fierce controversy and opponents would use the situation to brake.

Now it seems that Riyabkov's guess is correct. The United States has indeed begun to deliberately delay the withdrawal plan. Trump's brainstorming decision was soon "reasonably disguised". If the United States does not set a timetable for withdrawal options, it means that a short-term withdrawal is impossible. Because there must be a timetable and a schedule before an orderly withdrawal can be achieved. Now the Boltons are still wandering for the strategic interests of the United States in the Middle East. The Kurdish armed forces, an important ally of the United States in Syria, also need to be protected. As Riyabkov said, in the current situation, the sudden withdrawal of U.S. troops is unimaginable.

As the Russian Vice Foreign Minister, Riyabkov's statement can obviously be seen as an attitude of the Russian government towards the US withdrawal plan. Russia is also a competitor for Syria's strategic interests. Russia also wants to see the implementation of the U.S. withdrawal plan. But Russia has dealt with the United States for so many years, and Russia has a deep understanding of the United States as a country. For a long time, Russia has no hope for the United States, and Russia also realizes that as long as the strategic interests of the United States and Russia collide directly, the game will always exist for a long time. It is impossible for the United States to compromise its strategic interests, let alone give Russia a chance to breathe.

In other words, even without the presence of Turkish and Kurdish armed forces, the United States could not withdraw its troops from Syria in this way. We should know that the Bashar government, which now dominates Syria, is a regime close to Russia. The United States has always hoped to foster a pro-American government in Syria in order to Westernize Syria's position and completely squeeze Russia out of the Middle East. Driven by this strategic intent, the United States will certainly not weaken its influence in Syria on its own. Even if Trump really intends to adjust America's global strategy, he must take into account the advice of others, as well as the opinions of the military. Under the influence of various forces, the withdrawal plan of the United States may instead become a smoke bomb, making it more difficult for the outside world to speculate about the intentions of the United States. But generally speaking, as long as Russian forces continue to exist in Syria, the United States will not easily give up Syria.