Russian forces to start pulling out of ‘liberated’ Syria
VLADIMIR PUTIN yesterday announced Russia would start to withdraw the bulk of its forces from Syria following its “successful intervention” in the conflict there.
The announcement comes after the defence ministry said last week that Russia had “completely liberated” Syria from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), despite reports that the jihadist group still controls some remote territory in the country.
Speaking to soldiers at Russia’s Khmeimim airbase in Latakia during his first trip to Syria, where he was welcomed by President Bashar al-assad, Mr Putin said he was ordering the defence minister and head of the general staff to begin recalling Russian forces to their home bases.
“In two and a half years, Russia’s military, along with the Syrian army, have defeated the most battle-worthy gang of international terrorists,” Mr Putin said. “In connection with this, I’ve made the decision that a significant part of the Russian military contingent located in the Syrian Arab Republic will return home to Russia.”
However, he made clear Russia’s military presence in Syria was a permanent one and that it would retain enough firepower to destroy any Isil comeback.
“If the terrorists raise their head again, we will hit them with such strikes as they have never seen,” Mr Putin said. “We will never forget the casualties and losses that we suffered in the fight with terrorism here in Syria as well as at home in Russia.”
The president told his troops they were “returning with victory” to their homeland and loved ones.
Mr Putin’s visit to Syria comes days after he said he would run for re-election in March, a vote that is expected to keep him in power until 2024, nearly as long as Joseph Stalin. He is expected to make Russia’s more aggressive foreign policy and defiance of the West a centrepiece of his campaign. Moscow’s casualties have been mounting in Syria as its presence grew from advisers and military contractors to include special forces and an air campaign this autumn, although the exact number of deaths remains secret.
Despite Mr Putin’s talk of a drawdown, however, Russia has been increasingly involved in attacks on rebel-held areas outside the capital.
Eastern Ghouta, a besieged suburb of Damascus, is the last remaining large swathe of rebel-held area around Assad’s seat of power and the current focus of its firepower. Positioning himself as one of the main powerbrokers in the region, Mr Putin made a whistle-stop tour of the Middle East yesterday with visits to Syria, Egypt and Turkey.
Russia has been drafting an agreement to deploy warplanes to Egypt, further increasing its presence in the
Middle East.
A Pentagon spokesman said that Mr Putin was likely to carry out a “token withdrawal” of some aircraft, then follow up by demanding the US pulls its forces out of Syria.
‘If the terrorists raise their head again, we will hit them with such strikes as they have never seen’