But Syria’s government was not caught unawares by the move, a senior official told CNN.
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“Russia is upset with the poor performance of the [Syrian] regime army on the ground”, Abu Yusuf al-Muhajir, spokesman for the Ahrar al-Sham group, told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.
A “fragile” ceasefire has largely held since February 27, and humanitarian aid deliveries have resumed in recent weeks.
During a meeting with Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, Putin stated that the air force had accomplished its mission in the fight against terrorism in a professional manner.
A transit of some 2,700nm (5,000km) will have to be made to relocate the aircraft home, which the defence ministry says may require a number of stops at Russian air bases along the way to refuel. “They’re not going to work with Russian Federation”.
The pullback of Russian troops was scheduled to commence on Tuesday. Moscow says it has been targeting terrorists, including IS.
“They have been accusing us of all kinds of things and this is a good way of showing them they are wrong”.
Mixed signals began to emerge as Russia’s deputy defence minister said air strikes would continue.
“We hope (this) will have a positive impact on the progress of the negotiations”, he said in a statement. And that was to oblige the United States to accept the survival of the Assad regime. “The Syrian government delegation has come here to Geneva to waste time”.
“The revolution will continue until the fall of the regime”. It often points to the Arab Spring and the U.S.-led war in Iraq as evidence.
“There was an overlap in interests in the last few months”.
Assad’s office reported that he and Putin had spoken by telephone on March 14 and had agreed on the plan to reduce Russia’s presence in Syria. Moscow has yet to specify a timeframe for completing the withdrawal, and a Kremlin official said Russian Federation will keep advanced air defence systems in Syria.
“Despite the fact that Assad only gained back 5 percent of Syrian territory [during the Russian campaign], Putin is declaring victory”, Andrew Tabler, a Syrian expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told NPR’s Morning Edition.
The observations in the report by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria are important – it is expected to open old scars and put to rest many speculations, but action should be taken against those accused of war crimes. Faced with a weak economy due to sanctions and low world oil prices, the Kremlin could little afford simultaneous military campaigns in both Syria and Ukraine.
“Catching the Americans flatfooted and flabbergasted by the start of their partial withdrawal only sweetens Russia’s moment”, he said. “If it is a full withdrawal it will make this political process in Geneva much more successful”.
“I think it allows Assad in some ways to relax”.
“Looking at this in any way you want, there is no way conceivable that Assad’s writ will ever extend throughout the country again”, Brett McGurk, President Obama’s special envoy for countering ISIS, recently told The New Yorker.
“You can’t ignore the timing of this and the symbolism”, he said.
A top adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday Russian forces could return to Syria after withdrawing, and the United States now needed to pressure Turkey and Saudi Arabia to halt supplies to rebels.
“We are keen to find a solution that would lift the suffering of the Syrians”.
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The Syrian conflict has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced nearly half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.
