WH: ‘Ridiculous’ To Suggest That Putin Is ‘Happy’ About Syria Withdrawal

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders answers questions outside the West Wing of the White House on December 21, 2018. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was “a correct one,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed as “ridiculous” and “silly” the “idea” that Putin was happy about the withdrawal.

“The idea that Putin is happy about this is ridiculous,” Sanders told reporters outside the White House Friday morning. “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.”

That contradicts Putin’s own statement on the withdrawal: “If the decision to withdraw was made, then it is a correct one,” the Russian president said Thursday, per CNN.

Putin wasn’t alone. A spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry said the American withdrawal could precede “a milestone” in Syria.

“A milestone story which might evolve from this decision is a real prospect for a political solution,” the spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said.

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  1. Yep, Who’s your Vladdy isn’t happy.

    He’s ecstatic that his Dotardian Candidate scheme is working so well.

  2. Baghdad Sarah

  3. MSNBC, at least and hopefully others, already pushed back after SHS said such a stupid thing. Peter Gregory said that yesterday Putin said he was happy.

    Good grief. She’s ridiculous and an unapologetic liar. Great role model for her kiddies.

  4. US to Kurds: it’s time for you to die again, nothing personal.

  5. Putin is not ‘unhappy’, Sarah…

    US Syria pullout draws Kurdish condemnation and Putin's praise | Syria | The Guardian
    By contrast, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president whose military intervened in the Syrian war in 2015, turning the tide in favour of the Assad regime, welcomed the US move.
    If the USA made that decision then it’s the right one,” Putin said during a nationally televised press conference on Thursday, repeating complaints that US troop deployments in Syria were illegal because they were not agreed upon with the Assad government. He said he agreed with Trump that a “serious blow” had been struck against Isis, saying: “Donald is right, I agree with him.”

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