Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the start of the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria, saying that its objectives have been largely achieved. Russia will however keep a military presence at the port of Tartous and at the Khmeymim airbase.
17 March 2016
The majority of Russian warplanes will leave Syria's Khmeimim airbase within two or three days, chief of the Russian Air Force, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper on Thursday.
"I think, it [the withdrawal] will be done very quickly, according to schedule set up by the Commander-in-Chief and the Defense Minister. Maybe today or tomorrow ... we will definitely complete the objective within two to three days."
16 March 2016
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s decision to visit Moscow on March 21-22 was made regardless of Russia’s decision to reduce its forces in Syria, Kerry’s office says. "[Kerry's] trip to Moscow is not a result of Putin's [decision]" a US Department of State official told reporters on Tuesday. "This is a discussion he [Kerry] and Lavrov had been having for a while.” Earlier the same day American officials acknowledged that Moscow’s decision to withdraw troops and hardware from Syria took them by surprise, as they learnt about the news from media reports. "There was no advance knowledge of Putin's decision," the US State Department commented. "News reporting is how everybody found out." US Secretary of State John Kerry was surprised, too, the official said, adding that "nobody knew it (the decision) was coming."
The Russian Air Force withdrawal in Syria has come as no surprise to Damascus. Dr Bouthaina Shaaban, political adviser to the Syrian president, told RT: “This decision is to a certain extent conditioned by the success of the ceasefire agreement implemented earlier.”
“Attempts to present Moscow’s actions as applying pressure on Damascus are groundless. Moscow made the decision after consultations with the Syrian leadership and with consideration of the situation on the battlefield,” Shaaban told the Al Mayadeen TV channel, adding that Syria “maintains its own independent position while Moscow remains its ally and friend.”
Another group of Russian warplanes has left Syria’s Khmeimim airbase. They are heading for their bases in Russia. The group consists of a cargo Ilyushin Il-76 and Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets. Each group leaving Syria has a lead aircraft, an Il-76 or Tupolev Tu-154, which carries engineering and technical personnel and equipment. The planes follow the leader throughout the flight, stopping at Russian military airfields to refuel.
15 March 2016
A full implementation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine as a condition for any The US is monitoring Russia's withdrawal from Syria, the White House said, adding that it had not warned by Moscow in advance of the move.
"It’s obviously a move that we’ll be watching. The earliest indications are that the Russians are following through, but it’s still too early to determine on this point what impact it will have on the broader situation," Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, said at a briefing on Tuesday.
"If they continue to follow through ... then that would be a positive outcome," he said.
However, Earnest reiterated that Russia's military presence in the region had hindered peace talks in Syria.
Syrian opposition negotiators have demanded that the Syrian government present its ideas about political transition in detail. George Sabra, a negotiator from the opposition High Negotiations Committee, also said the that opposition delegation had handed it a proposal on a transitional government with full executive powers to be given to the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura. For his part, de Mistura said he wanted suggestions from all sides in order to be able to merge them into a common position.
A large crowd gathered at an airbase near Voronezh, Tuesday, to welcome the first group of Russian Air Force pilots returning from Syria.
European External Action Service (EEAS) spokesperson Catherine Ray commented on the Russian military withdrawal from Syria during a press briefing in Brussels, Tuesday.
Syrian President Bashar Assad’s senior aide, Bouthaina Shaaban, called the withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria a “natural” step, adding that Russian forces had accomplished all the goals set by Russia and Syria. She was speaking to RT Arabic. Shaaban stressed the United States should influence the parties opposed to the peace process more actively.
"We expect that the USA will apply greater pressure on those who are against the resolution of the situation in Syria," she said as quoted by RT Arabic.
The farewell ceremony took place at Hmeymim airbase in Latakia Province as Russia started its military withdrawal from Syria.
Deputy Defense Minister, Nikolay Pankov, who attended the event, praised the “high performance” of the Russian air grouping and the Syrian army, saying that its actions “allowed us to damage the terrorists, to disorganize their command and control and to undermine their economic potential.”
“Thanks to this it became possible to intensify the offensive of Syrian governmental forces and to liberate more than 200 localities,” Pankov stressed.
A UN Human Rights Council independent inquiry commission on Syria welcomed Russia’s decision to withdraw its forces, calling it a clear sign of the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s firm commitment to the Syrian peace process.
"It will be fair to recognize that there is a clear commitment of Putin to the need to support negotiations that will be going here in Geneva," Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, told journalists.
Russian air power will be withdrawn from Syria as scheduled, according to the Russian Air Force Commander, Colonel General Viktor Bondarev.
“Today, we met the pilots on our native land. The [return of] the main part of the aviation group is the decision of the commander-in-chief and we will fulfill the decision according to the set schedule,” Bondarev told journalists.
The French Foreign Ministry cautiously welcomed Russia’s withdrawal from Syria by saying that anything that contributes to de-escalation in the war-torn country should be encouraged.
"We have taken note of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin's announcements. If those are translated into action that would be a positive development," a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said, as quoted by Reuters.
The terrorist Al Nusra Front group is planning a major offensive in Syria, to be launched within the next two days, the Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria reported. The plan was inspired by Russia’s withdrawal from the country, which the terrorists consider a defeat for Moscow and Damascus.
The first group of SU-34 bomber jets that left Syria this morning have arrived back to base in the Russian city of Voronezh, the Ministry of Defense reports. The pilots were greeted by the head of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, Colonel general Viktor Bondarev, who congratulated them on flying the dangerous missions and returning home safely.
The first group of warplanes, including Tupolev Tu-154 and Sukhoi Su-34 bombers have departed from the Latakia airbase, said the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has in line with the President’s instructions ordered the departure of the main part of the Air Force personnel from Syria starting Tuesday.
"The technical personnel of the air base have started preparing the aircraft for performing a distance flight to home base in the Russian Federation. The personnel are loading equipment, material and technical supplies and property onto the aircraft of the military-transport aviation,” Shoigu said in a statement.
Former US ambassador to Morocco, Marc Ginsberg, believes that Washington should “welcome Mr. Putin’s decision to reduce the number of Russian troops inside Syria.”
“I think it’s important that it shows that perhaps there is a role now for more moderate forces to be able to help take control over the territories that had been more or less left in no-man’s land and so that the humanitarian support that is necessary to be brought in is able to be by organizations in order to feed Syrians desperate for humanitarian relief,” Ginsberg told RT.
“It’s clear that both the Russian government and the United States government had a common objective here, and that is to try to bring some humanitarian relief to the terrible crisis that has been going on inside Syria.”
14 March 2016
The United Nations Security Council has positively received the news of the Russian withdrawal from Syria.
"We have also taken very good note of the decision by the Russians to start withdrawing part of these forces," the Security Council’s rotating president, Angola's Ambassador Ismael Abraao Gaspar Martins, told reporters. "When we see forces withdrawing, it means war is being taking a different step. So that's good."
“I do not think that Russia will stop battling Islamic State and Al-Nusra Front,” Gerard Bapt, a member of the National Assembly of France, told RT. Bapt noted such a move would contribute to the stabilization of the situation in Syria, as all non-terrorist parties involved in the conflict will have no other choice but to engage in peace efforts.
Russian withdrawal from Syria is a "reasonable decision" as Islamic State is now in defensive position, Republican party MP and former transport minister Thierry Mariani told RT. "And apparently, Russian forces no longer need to stay in Syria."
Apparetly Russia has achieved its military objectives and Moscow believes that there is less danger from Islamic State militants, Eric Coquerel from France’s Left Party told RT.
"This [Russian troops withdrawal] is a necessary and positive [development]... It was probably carried out and to facilitate [Geneva] negotiations because in our view the Syrian issue should be resolved in the UN," he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart Barack Obama about Syria, Putin's press office said. Both presidents spoke in favor of fast political regulation of the Syrian conflict and spoke about the Geneva talks.
Putin informed Obama that after the Russian forces fulfilled major goals fighting international terrorism, Russia decided to withdraw troops from Syria, the statement says.
The Russian operation “changed the situation on the ground. ISIS is being pushed back,” journalist Neil Clark told RT.
The Russian decision to end the operation in Syria is an attempt to encourage the Syrian peace process, Catherine Shakdam, political analyst, writer and commentator for the Middle East, said.
“It is not a sign of defeat... that does not mean that Russia is abandoning Syria. What it means is that Russia wants to help Syria to decide its own future,” Shakdam added.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said that Syrian President Bashar Assad would be under pressure to negotiate a peaceful transition to end the Syrian civil war if Russia withdraws its forces from Syria.
“If the announcement of Russian troop withdrawal materializes, this will increase the pressure on the Assad regime to finally and seriously negotiate a peaceful political transition in Geneva,” Steinmeier has said in a statement, referring to ongoing peace talks underway in the Swiss city.
The dollar has fallen below the 70 RUB mark after Putin’s announcement of Russian troops’ withdrawal from Syria. The dollar was worth 69.87 RUB, and the euro 77.53 RUB at the Moscow stock exchange at 10:27pm GMT. Several hours earlier the figures stood at 71 RUB and 79 RUB respectively.
France’s National Front Vice President, Florian Filippo commented on the development to RT, saying “this is a smart decision. With the withdrawal of the armed forces, Vladimir Putin shows that he wants to solve the Syrian crisis. Russia has shown that it is not at all the great terrible gray wolf as we’ve been made to think of it for many months.”
Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said they had not been warned in advance of Russia’s decision to withdraw military forces from Syria, expressing surprise about the abrupt announcement from Moscow, adding they had not seen any indications so far by way of Russian military preparations for the withdrawal.
The Russian withdrawal of forces from Syria proves that Russia had fulfilled its promise of its presence being a temporary measure, Qadri Jamil, a spokesman for the Popular Front for Change and Liberation and member of opposition group Cairo-Moscow, involved in the negotiations in Geneva, has said.
“This proves that the Russian side has fulfilled its promise, as it said initially, that it is [in Syria] temporary.”
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin has said he would inform the UN Security Council about the beginning of Russian troops’ withdrawal from Syria. “These are informal consultations, but of course I am planning to discuss this,” he told reporters while on his way to a session of the UN Security Council.
The Syrian opposition has welcomed the announcement that Russia is to withdraw its forces from Syria, saying the move is likely to put pressure on Syrian authorities and give the peace talks in Geneva a positive impulse.
"If there is seriousness in implementing the withdrawal, it will give the talks a positive push," Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the rebel High Negotiations Committee, has said.
Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has said that the details and timing of the withdrawal of Russian Aerospace Defense Forces from Syria will be worked out by the Ministry of Defense based on requirements to ensure the safety of remaining military personnel.
“This is a framework decision of the president, the details will be specified by the Ministry of Defence,” he said.
Peskov has also noted, that the bases and personnel that remain in Syria will provide coordination with foreign partners. "In monitoring the ceasefire we continue to coordinate actions with the American side. Tartus and Khmeimim will keep on performing these functions”.
"Our bases – the naval base in Tartus and the airbase at the Khmeimim airfield – will operate in a routine mode. They are to be safely protected from the land, from the sea and from air," Vladimir Putin has said, adding that those Russia servicemen who will stay in Syria will be engaged in monitoring the ceasefire regime. "A part of our military group has been traditionally deployed in Syria for many years and now it will be tasked with fulfilling the very important job of monitoring the ceasefire regime and creating conditions for the peace process."
The US State Department has not yet assessed reports of Moscow’s decision to withdraw Russia’s air group from Syria, according to the department’s spokesperson John Kirby. “I did not see that report before coming out here today. So, I am going to have to reserve comment until we have a chance to take a look at it and make an assessment”, Kirby said.
Syria and Russia have agreed to reduce the presence of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces in the Middle Eastern country after it helped the Syrian army make military gains, according to a statement made by the Syrian president, stating the move will be in line with “the continuation of the cessation of hostilities and in accordance with the situation on the ground.”
Russia has pledged to continue its support for Syria in “combating terrorism,” the same statement declared.
In a phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Syria's President Bashar Assad at Moscow's initiative, the two leaders have agreed that the actions of Russia's Air Force in Syria have allowed them to "profoundly reverse the situation" in connection to fighting terrorists in the region, having "disorganized militants' infrastructure and inflicted fundamental damage upon them."
"I ask the Russian Foreign Ministry to intensify Russia's participation in organizing the peace process to solve the Syrian problem," Putin said during his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov has assured the president that the operations of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces had created the conditions for the political process in Syria. He noted that the talks on Syria's future had resumed in Geneva earlier on Monday, adding that "the work is not easy, it is yet to be understood how all these groups [that take part in the talks] could gather at the same table together. But the process has got underway, and it is in our common interests to make it sustainable and irreversible."
“I consider the objectives that have been set for the Defense Ministry to be generally accomplished,” Putin has said during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “That is why I order to start withdrawal of the main part of our military group from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic starting from tomorrow.”