"We have not held out as a condition for the political solution to the conflict that the long-standing Russian military relationship with the government of Syria has to end. We haven’t held that out," Rayburn, who is also US Special Envoy for Syria, told the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rayburn explained that the US formula for political settlement calls for the withdrawal of foreign forces that arrived in Syria in 2011 or later, while Russia has had a naval base in the Syrian city of Tartus since the Cold War.
"So the Russians had a naval presence there for decades before 2011. We have not tried to press for their pre-existing relationship to end," he said.
Rayburn added that it will be up to a future Syrian government and the Syrian people to decide on their foreign relations, and the United States "[relies] on them to do that."
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous armed opposition groups and militant and terrorist organizations. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is a guarantor of the ceasefire regime in Syria. Supported by Iran and Russia, Syrian government troops have regained control over most of the country, and now Damascus is focusing on post-war reconstruction.