Putin Orders Surprise Syria Withdrawal
By BBC. In a surprise move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to start withdrawing the “main part” of its forces in Syria from Tuesday.
He said the Russian intervention had largely achieved its objectives.
The comments come amid fresh peace talks in Geneva aimed at resolving the five-year Syrian conflict.
Russia is a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose office said in a statement he had agreed to the move.
The pullout was “in accordance with the situation on the ground”, the statement said. (Read more from “Putin Orders Surprise Syria Withdrawal” HERE)
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Putin’s Shock Plan to Pull Troops From Syria Puts Pressure on Assad
By Jake Rudnitsky, Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer. Russia said it will start withdrawing forces from Syria in a surprise move that puts pressure on its ally President Bashar Al-Assad, as well as opposition groups, to reach a deal at the peace talks that got under way hours earlier in Geneva.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military intervention last year in support of Assad turned the tide in Syria’s five-year civil war, said the partial pullout should begin on Tuesday. A Russian air base and a naval facility will continue to function, he said in Moscow. Assad didn’t request the withdrawal, said Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.
Russia has urged the Syrian leader to be “constructive” in the latest peace talks, aimed at ending a conflict that’s killed a quarter-million people, sparked a refugee exodus to Europe and allowed Islamic State a foothold. For Putin, who’s worked with the U.S. to promote diplomacy in Syria even though the two powers backed opposite sides in the war, it’s an opportunity to display peacemaking credentials while preserving the gains Assad’s army made under Russian air cover.
“Putin is a wily guy. He is showing he’s a statesman,” said Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East studies at the University of Oklahoma. “Russia is also sending a message to Assad who has been sounding too confident.” (Read more from “Putin’s Shock Plan to Pull Troops From Syria Puts Pressure on Assad” HERE)
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