MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. Washington has failed to achieve US own objectives in Syria, which included toppling the incumbent legitimate government, Franz Klintsevich, a member of the Russian Federation Council's (upper house of parliament) defense and security committee, told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Klintsevich, "the process [of the US troops withdrawal] could be protracted for indefinite time." Besides, they "can always say that circumstances have changed."

"In case the United States has really decided to pull all their troops out of Syria, it does not mean that they have accomplished their mission there," he added. "If anything, they failed to replace the government in Syria by ousting Bashar al-Assad. As for Islamic State (a terrorist group banned in Russia), the Americans initially did not strive to destroy that quasi-state, continuing to play their games with it," Klintsevich said.

Earlier, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders announced that the US started to pull out its troops from Syria. US President Donald Trump stated on Twitter that the United States have defeated ISIS (Islamic State) in Syria, which is the only reason for the US troops being there.