Putin orders Russian troop withdrawals from Syria
Russian leader meets Bashar Al Assad on his way to discussions with the Egyptian and Turkish presidents
Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered a “significant part” of Moscow’s forces in Syria to start withdrawing yesterday, as he held surprise talks with president Bashar Al Assad on a visit to Russia’s Syrian airbase.
The visit to Hmeimim base in Latakia province was Mr Putin’s first trip to Syria and comes as Mr Al Assad’s forces have retaken control of most of Syria under Russian air cover.
“You are returning with victory to your native homes, to your relatives, parents, wives, children, friends,” Mr Putin said in an address to Russian troops at the base. “The motherland is waiting for you.” The base has served as the main launch pad for the air campaign that Russia has waged since September 2015 in support of Mr Al Assad.
Mr Putin’s order for the withdrawal comes a week after the Russian ministry of defence said it had defeated ISIL and that there were no remaining enclaves left in Syria under the extremists’ control.
Washington, however, was sceptical about Mr Putin’s announcement.
“Russian comments about removal of their forces do not often correspond with actual troop reductions, and do not affect US priorities in Syria,” said Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon. Mr Putin made the stop in Syria on his way to meet Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El Sisi for talks in Cairo.
He later flew to Ankara to meet Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr El Sisi and Mr Putin discussed Syria and their mutual rejection of US president Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“We had a detailed exchange of views on key international issues. Our approaches either coincide completely or are really quite close,” Mr Putin said.
Neither leader mentioned the Russian government’s release last month of a draft agreement between Russia and Egypt that would let the two countries use each other’s airspace and airbases for their military planes.
After his meeting with Mr El Sisi, the Russian president met Mr Erdogan in Ankara and held talks on stability and security in the Middle East.
The talks also focused on the current situation in Syria and the US’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Russia, Turkey and Egypt have all denounced the US move, which was announced by Mr Trump on Wednesday last week.
Meanwhile, Syrian regime representatives held talks with UN mediator Staffan de Mistura yesterday in Geneva as part of UN-brokered peace talks.
Headed by Syria’s UN ambassador, Bashar Al Jaafari, the regime delegation is set to stay in Geneva until Friday
Also yesterday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said ISIL extremists had been driven out of Syria’s Idlib province, two days after an incursion into the region bordering Turkey.