Syria’s fate was once again shrouded in uncertainty after US President Donald Trump agreed in a National Security Council meeting on Wednesday to keep US troops in the country for a limited time. The White House vowed that the US mission in Syria would come to a "rapid end" but failed to put a timetable on an eventual withdrawal. Trump’s decision, which came few days after he had signaled his desire to get US forces out of Syria, left its marks on the Russian-Turkish-Iranian summit held in Ankara on Wednesday to discuss the future of the Syrian war. Trump spoke by telephone to French President Emmanuel Macron, whose office said both countries "remain determined" to pursue the battle against ISIS. However Paris remained silent on the activities of its own forces in northern Syria, despite reports saying French troops would be moved to the city of Manbij to block any possible Turkish offensive. On Wednesday, the Elysee Palace and even the foreign and defense ministries refused to comment on the French troops’ movements in Syria. Meanwhile, the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed to speed up efforts to ensure “calm on the ground” in Syria and expressed their opposition to separatism in the war-torn country and any attempts to change the situation “on the ground” under the pretext of fighting terrorism, in a reference to the US position. Moscow expressed its wide satisfaction with the results of the summit. “Russia sent clear messages to Washington and it placed a vision to enhance the role of the three countries in Syria,” circles close to Moscow said. Separately, the Cabinet of the Syrian regime, chaired by Imad Khamis, discussed the possibility of establishing a new Regulation Zone in the countryside of Damascus based on Law No. 10 of 2018, which amends decree 66 of 2012, that gives the regime the right to “redevelop areas of unauthorized housing and informal settlements slums.” The move was considered by opposition forces as “an attempt to produce demographic changes in the area.”