Putin Orders to Start Russian Military Pullout from Syria
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the withdrawal of most of his country's military forces from Syria.
The move comes before new peace talks between Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and opposition forces aimed at putting an end to the bloody civil war that has ravaged Syria for years.
The pullback signals a slowdown in Russia's nearly six-month military campaign that assisted Assad's forces in regaining key territory.
Although Russian forces are scheduled to withdraw starting this week, the country's presence in Syria will remain. Putin made it clear that his country will maintain its naval facility, air base, and some troops in Syria.
The sudden withdrawal of Russian forces allows Putin to pose as a peacemaker in Syria's civil war.
In a televised meeting with Russia's foreign and defense ministries, Putin said Russia's military forces have "radically" changed Syria to allow the conditions for peace negotiations.
State TV quoted Assad agreeing, saying that Russia and Syria's collaboration have ensured "victories against terrorism and returned security to the country."
U.N. special envoy Staffan de Mistura restarted peace talks between the Assad government and opposition forces in Geneva on Monday.
De Mistura said during the talks that Syria's political climate is the "mother of all issues" and "the only plan B available is return to war- and to even worse war than we had so far."
Although the withdrawal coincides with Syrian peace talks, the country remains deeply divided and terrorist groups are still fighting to take over the country.
Syrian opposition representative Salem Al Mislet in Geneva urged Putin to withdraw complete support for Assad and remove all military forces during the talks.
"If this step, this action will remove all Russian troops from Syria then it will be a positive step, I believe," he said, adding that Putin should follow up on that "by saying he is standing beside the Syrian people, not beside the Syrian dictatorship."
Assad recently announced that Syria will have parliamentary elections next month but rejects the international call for a presidential election.
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