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WASHINGTON: The United States is determined to prevent the Daesh group from reestablishing safe havens in Syria, as well as the fragmentation of the country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.
“Daesh will try to use this period to reestablish its capabilities, to create safe havens. As our precision strikes over the weekend demonstrate, we are determined not to let that happen,” Blinken said at an event at the State Department.
In a tacit differentiation with President-elect Donald Trump, who has insisted that the United States has little at stake in the long-troubled nation, Blinken said that Washington had a series of interests in Syria — including keeping it together.
“We have a clear interest in doing what we can to avoid the fragmentation of Syria, mass migrations from Syria and, of course, the export of terrorism and extremism,” he said.
Blinken said that the United States also has a “clear interest in ensuring that whatever weapons of mass destruction or components are left in Syria do not fall into the wrong hands.”