俄罗斯外交部发言人指责美国对唐纳德·特朗普总统部署军队保卫叙利亚东部油田的计划进行“犯罪活动”。
玛丽亚·扎哈罗娃(Maria Zakharova)周五表示，特朗普政府正在进行非法走私，并估计华盛顿每月从该地区开采的石油中获利数千万美元。
据国家通讯社报道Tass扎哈罗娃说，美国正在“绕过自己的制裁”，从叙利亚“每月价值超过3000万美元”获取石油。她还暗示，部署的美国部队“在不久的将来不会离开这些地区”
国防部长马克·埃斯珀(Mark Esper)上月证实，由装甲车支持的美国军队将被部署来保卫油田。官方说法是，这次任务的目的是阻止资源落入剩余的伊斯兰国武装分子手中，但特朗普表示，他愿意让美国能源公司参与油田开发。
随着特朗普上月突然从叙利亚东北部撤军，俄罗斯已成为该国的权力掮客。
克里姆林宫正在支持巴沙尔·阿萨德总统莫斯科和大马士革都表示，他们将接受这个饱受八年内战蹂躏的国家的完全统一。
美国突然放弃其在该国东部的影响力，这给阿萨德和俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京带来了可喜的胜利，但特朗普决定留下一些军队激怒了两国。
扎哈罗娃说，国际社会有权质疑美国的战略。她将此次部署描述为美国“从叙利亚东北部抽取石油”，同时“以对抗伊斯兰国为借口掩盖其犯罪活动”
她补充说，美国一直“系统地宣布其对一些民主价值观和国际法的承诺”
尽管叙利亚拥有大量石油储备，但其财富无法与伊拉克或沙特阿拉伯等其他地区国家相比。经过几年的战斗——其中包括俄罗斯和美国领导的西方联盟的大规模空中轰炸——叙利亚的石油工业形势不妙。
根据彭博资讯去年，叙利亚每天能够开采约24，000桶石油，按目前价格计算，价值约为150万美元。由于战争和随之而来的制裁，产量下降了90%以上。
2019年10月31日，在与土耳其接壤的叙利亚东北部城镇Qahtaniyah巡逻时，一辆美国装甲车驶过叙利亚库尔德妇女保护部队的广告牌。
RUSSIA CLAIMS U.S. WILL SMUGGLE $30 MILLION OF OIL OUT OF SYRIA EVERY MONTH UNDER TRUMP'S 'CRIMINAL' PLAN
Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson has accused the U.S. of "criminal activity" with regards to President Donald Trump's plan to deploy troops to guard oil fields in eastern Syria.
Maria Zakharova said Friday that the Trump administration was engaging in illegal smuggling, and estimated Washington stands to make tens of millions of dollars every month from the oil extracted in the region.
According to state news agency Tass, Zakharova said the U.S. was "bypassing its own sanctions" to take the oil—"worth over $30 million per month"—from Syria. She also suggested the U.S. forces deployed "are not going to leave these areas in the near future."
Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed last month that U.S. troops supported by armored vehicles would be deployed to guard the oil fields. Officially, the purpose of the mission is to stop the resources falling back into the hands of remaining Islamic State militants, but Trump has said he would like to bring in U.S. energy companies to work the fields.
With Trump's abrupt withdrawal of U.S. troops from northeastern Syria last month, Russia has emerged as the power broker in the country.
The Kremlin is backing President Bashar al-Assad, and both Moscow and Damascus have said they will accept nothing less than the full reunification of the country, ravaged by eight years of civil war.
America's sudden abdication of its influential position in the east of the country handed Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin a welcome win, but Trump's decision to leave some troops behind has rankled both nations.
Zakharova said the international community has a right to question America's strategy. She characterized the deployment as the U.S. "pumping oil out of the northeast of Syria" while it "masks its criminal activity by some pretexts of a struggle against the Islamic State."
All the while, she added, the U.S. "systematically declares its commitment to some democratic values and international law."
Though Syria is home to significant oil deposits, the wealth there does not compare to other regional nations like Iraq or Saudi Arabia. And after several years of fighting—which has included extensive aerial bombing campaigns from Russia and the U.S.-led Western coalition—Syria's oil industry is in a bad way.
According to Bloomberg, Syria was able to extract some 24,000 barrels a day last year, worth around $1.5 million by current prices. Production has fallen by more than 90 percent thanks to the war and resulting sanctions.
A U.S. armoured vehicle drives past a billboard for the Syrian Kurdish Women's Protection Units during a patrol of the Syrian northeastern town of Qahtaniyah at the border with Turkey, on October 31, 2019.
