US has no intention to stay in Syria: State Dept

By Safvan Allahverdi

WASHINGTON

The United States has no intention of staying in Syria after defeating the Daesh terrorist organization, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Friday, denying a report that U.S. forces will remain there for decades.

"Our overall mission is to defeat ISIS, whether it's in Iraq or in Syria. That is our intent -- to defeat ISIS and not do anything more than that," Nauert said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, another name for Daesh.

Nauert was responding to a question at a press briefing about a Syrian Democratic Force (SDF) spokesman's claim that the U.S. will remain in Syria long after Daesh is defeated.

"We want Syria governed by Syrians, not by the United States, not by any other forces, but by Syrians," she added.

The U.S. has supported the PKK/PYD -- considered by Turkey as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization -- along with several other Arab militia groups under the umbrella of the SDF, long vexing Ankara.

The U.S. views the SDF as a "reliable partner" in its fight against Daesh and continues to provide it with arms and equipment against strong objections by Turkey.