“This is a moment to seize, not waste”, he said Tuesday.
Advertisement
President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to withdraw most of its forces from Syria, timing his move to the launch of Syria peace talks Monday – an end game that allows the Russian leader to cash in on his gains and reduce his risks in the conflict.
The pull-out decision indicates Russian Federation does not see an imminent need for resort to force in maintaining the Syrian ceasefire, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.
The official Syrian opposition said it had to “wait and see” before taking Putin’s announcement seriously – but several of its delegates in Geneva reportedly cried with happiness when news reached their hotel.
Russian Federation is keeping an air base and an undeclared number of forces in Syria.
Putin made clear that not all Russian forces would be withdrawn, and that Russia’s airbase near Latakia, as well as Moscow’s small but symbolically important naval base at Tartus on the Mediterranean coast, would remain open – though they “will operate in a routine mode”.
Despite the initial pullout, a monitoring group said Russian helicopters – and likely warplanes – which are still in Syria had pounded Islamic State group positions as regime troops pressed an advance.
“If the Russian friends withdraw part of their forces, this does not mean they can not return”, Bouthaina Shaaban said on Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen TV. The opposition delegation later began a meeting with Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, a day after he met with the government delegation. “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”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at a daily briefing. Assad flew to Moscow on Tuesday evening to personally thank Putin for his military support, in a surprise visit that underlined how Russian Federation has become a major player in the Middle East. Picture taken October 20, 2015.
The top diplomat said that he will be traveling next week to Moscow to meet with President Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in order to discuss how to move the political process of Syria forward.
The announcement also coincided with the resumption of U.N.-led peace talks between the Syrian regime and opposition groups.
Putin has reportedly explained his decision to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad during a telephone call.
Advertisement
“But we have to judge Russian Federation by its actions, not its word”, he said.
