U.S. officials are also continuing their search for Austin Tice, an American journalist and Marine Corps vet who disappeared 12 years ago near Damascus.
Putin said the presence of the foreigners is illegal because they don’t have permission to be there from the United Nations or Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government.
Trump became focused on Syria’s oil in October 2019 after he abruptly announced his intention to draw down U.S. troops deployed against ISIS in the area.
