Russia not reason for U.S. ending CIA arms to Syria rebels: general

U.S. Army General Raymond Thomas

ASPEN, Colo. (Reuters) - A U.S. decision to halt a CIA program equipping and training certain rebel groups fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not done as a concession to Assad ally Russia, a top U.S. general said on Friday.

Earlier this week a U.S. official said the decision was part of an effort by the Trump administration to improve relations with Russia, which along with Iranian-supported groups has largely succeeded in preserving Assad's government in the six-year-long civil war.

"It was, I think, based on an assessment on the nature of the program, what we're trying to accomplish, the viability of it going forward," U.S. Army General Raymond Thomas, head of the Special Operations Command, told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.

The decision was "absolutely not a sop to the Russians," Thomas said.

Thomas, offering the first on-the-record commentary on the matter by a U.S. official, described it as a "tough, tough decision." He noted some critics thought the rebels had no chance of removing Assad from power.

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