Russia accuses US of trying to take credit for its victory in Syria

Moscow (dpa) - The speaker of Russia‘s upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, accused the United States on Wednesday of trying to take credit for Russia‘s victory in Syria."It‘s simply embarrassing to comment about this. We know who achieved the victory, and the world knows. It‘s obvious that someone wants to get in on someone else‘s glory," Matviyenko said in comments carried by state news agency TASS.Russia announced last week that it had accomplished its mission in Syria after defeating the extremist group Islamic State and said it would now focus on rebuilding the Middle Eastern country and preserving peace.Russia has been the main military backer of Syria‘s controversial ruling regime, a long-time ally, for the past two years of that country‘s bloody, multi-sided civil war.The United States ended its support for rebel groups seeking to overthrow the Syrian regime earlier this year and has bolstered efforts to rout Islamic State.US President Donald Trump praised his country‘s roles in Syria and neighbouring Iraq on Tuesday, saying "we‘ve won in Syria, we‘ve won in Iraq."Trump said the US intended to continue its efforts to fight Islamic State extremists as they spread to other areas. "We‘re getting them as fast as they spread," according to a White House transcript.Matviyenko, in an apparent response to Trump‘s comments, said "the US is probably bragging about how Iraq is almost ruined."