Putin also indicated that Russian forces will remain at the port of Tartus and Hmeymim airbase in Latakia.
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The announcement of the withdrawal comes the same day as Syrian peace talks resumed in Geneva, and is seen by some as evidence that Putin is sending a message to Syrian and other forces in the region to reach a political solution, CNN’s Matthew Chance reported from Moscow.
The last round, which took place in February, quickly broke down after Russian airstrikes continued to pound opposition areas.
“That is why I order to begin withdrawal of most of our military group from Syria starting from tomorrow”, Putin said on Monday at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Russia’s involvement has widely been credited with turning the tide in the five-year-long conflict with Assad’s forces and their supporters making inroads in the north.
“The effective work of our military created the conditions for the start of the peace process”, Putin said at the Kremlin meeting.
Worldwide media reported that he said Russian military troops had largely fulfilled their objectives.
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In a statement the Kremlin said Putin and Assad 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 “disorganised militants’ infrastructure and inflicted fundamental damage upon them”. Russia’s intervention started with air strikes, ground forces were added to the fray in November.
