Russia pulls out of Syria
RUSSIAN LEADER PULLS OUT MOST FORCES
A Russian soldier walks inside a Greek Orthodox church in Maaloula, Syria, this month. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to withdraw most of its forces from Syria, timing his move to the launch of peace talks Monday.
President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to withdraw most of its forces from Syria, timing his move to the launch of Syria peace talks Monday — an end game that allows the Russian leader to cash in on his gains and reduce his risks in the conflict.
The start of the negotiations in Geneva offers Putin an opportune moment to declare an official end to the 51/2- month Russian air campaign that has allowed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army to win back some key ground and strengthen his positions ahead of the talks.
With Russia’s main goals in Syria achieved, the pullback will allow Putin to pose as a peacemaker and help ease tensions with NATO member Turkey and the Gulf monarchies vexed by Moscow’s military action.
At the same time, Putin made it clear that Russia will maintain its airbase and a naval facility in Syria and keep some troops there. Syria’s state news agency also quoted Assad as saying that the Russian military will draw down its air force contingent but won’t leave the country altogether.
Announcing his decision in a televised meeting with Russia’s foreign and defence ministries, Putin said the Russian air campaign has allowed Assad’s military to “radically” turn the tide of war and helped create conditions for peace talks.
“With the tasks set before the Defence Ministry and the military largely fulfilled, I’m ordering the defence minister to start the pullout of the main part of our group of forces from Syria, beginning tomorrow,” Putin said.
He didn’t specify how many planes and troops should be withdrawn. The number of Russian soldiers in Syria has not been revealed. U. S. estimates vary from 3,000 to 6,000.
Russia has deployed more than 50 jets and helicopters to its Hemeimeem airbase, in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia, and they have operated at a frenetic pace, each flying several combat sorties on an average day. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin that thanks to the Russian air support the Syrian military has extended its control to 400 towns and villages over an area of 10,000 square kilometres.
State TV quoted Assad as saying that the collaboration between Russian and Syrian forces has secured “victories against terrorism and returned security to the country.”
The UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, who restarted peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition in Geneva on Monday, said he had no comment on Putin’s announcement.
Earlier in the day, he warned that the only alternative to the negotiations is a return to war, and described political transition in the country as “the mother of all issues.”
The Russian- and U. S.- brokered ceasefire that began on Feb. 27 has largely held, but both the Syrian government and its foes have accused one another of violations. The deal with Washington has achieved a key Putin goal: raising Russia’s global profile to appear as an equal to the United States in mediating the Syrian conflict that has dominated global attention.
ISIL and al- Qaida’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front, are excluded from the ceasefire and Russia has said it would continue its fight against the groups considered terrorists by the United Nations.
A Pentagon spokesman, navy Capt. Jeff Davis, said the Russians in recent days have been pounding ISIL targets in and around the western approaches to the city of Palmyra, which is firmly in ISIL control. Davis said this has been a Russian focus since the cessation of hostilities began.
Officials said Monday they saw no immediate sign of any pullout. Although Putin’s announcement caught Pentagon officials by surprise, officials have said they had questioned how long the Russian air campaign would last based on the fact that they were not making regular troop rotations.
Putin’s announcement appears to indicate that Moscow will largely halt its military action for now. The Russian air force already has drastically reduced its activities since the ceasefire started.
Putin said Monday’s move should help raise trust and serve as a stimulus for Syria’s political talks. The Kremlin said the president coordinated the move with Assad, who voiced his readiness to “quickly launch a political process.”
Moments before meeting with a Syrian government envoy in Geneva, de Mistura laid out both high stakes and low expectations for what is shaping up as the most promising initiative in years to end the conflict that moves into its sixth year on Tuesday. At least a quarter of a million people have been killed and half of Syria’s population has been displaced, flooding Europe with refugees.
The truce, however, has helped vastly reduce the bloodshed and allowed the recent resumption of humanitarian aid deliveries to thousands of Syrians in “besieged areas” — zones surrounded by fighters and generally cut off from the outside world.
De Mistura laid out a stark choice for Syrian parties in the talks, saying: “As far as I know, the only plan B available is return to war — and to even worse war than we had so far.”
‘SHE HASN’T LIVED A GOOD DAY IN HER LIFE.’ THE ONLY PLAN B AVAILABLE IS RETURN TO WAR — AND TO AN EVEN WORSE WAR THAN WE HAD SO FAR.