WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that his decision to leave a small number of U.S. troops in Syria does not constitute a reversal of his December announcement that he would withdraw the 2,000 troops serving in the country.

Trump has now decided to leave a total of about 400 U.S. troops in Syria split between a safe zone along the northeastern border with Turkey and the U.S. military base at Tanf, near the border with Iraq and Jordan.