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Russia 'starting drawdown of forces from Syria' Russia begins military withdrawal from Syria
(about 3 hours later)
Russia says it is withdrawing an aircraft carrier and other warships from waters off the Mediterranean as the first step in drawing down forces in Syria. Vladimir Putin has signalled “mission semi-accomplished” in Syria as Russia announced the start of a withdrawal of forces, beginning with the departure from the Mediterranean of a naval group led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
“In accordance with the decision of the supreme commander of the Russian armed forces, [President] Vladimir Putin, the Russian defence ministry is beginning the reduction of the armed deployment to Syria,” military chief Valery Gerasimov said. “In accordance with the decision of the supreme commander of the Russian armed forces, [President] Vladimir Putin, the Russian defence ministry is beginning the reduction of the armed deployment to Syria,” the military chief, Valery Gerasimov, said.
Gerasimov said a naval group headed by aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov would be the first to leave the area. Putin ordered a reduction in his forces in Syria on 29 December, as he announced a ceasefire between government and rebel forces that excludes areas controlled by Islamic State. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is pushing for peace talks to be held this month in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.
Russia’s main commander in Syria, Andrei Kartapolov, added: “The tasks set for the aircraft carrier group during its military mission have been fulfilled.” Expert opinion is divided over whether the Kuznetsov’s journey to the Mediterranean in October added anything militarily beyond a symbolic show of naval force.
Kartapolov said Russia still had sufficient air defence capabilities in Syria thanks to the S-300 and S-400 systems deployed in the country. Putin had previously announced a partial withdrawal of Russian forces in March 2016, only to increase its presence again as fighting intensified. But it is likely this time around that the president feels his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, is militarily, if not politically, secure.
Moscow launched a bombing campaign in Syria in September 2015, helping to turn the tide in favour of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. Syrian regime forces targeting the second city of Aleppo were aided by Russian firepower on land in Syria and off the coast in the Mediterranean. Russia still has sufficient air defence capabilities with the S-300 and S-400 systems deployed in Syria.
Moscow launched a bombing campaign in Syria in September 2015, helping to turn the tide in favour of Assad. By the turn of the year, only 23 Russian soldiers had been killed, according to official figures, defying US administration predictions that Moscow would become bogged down in a quagmire.
Syrian regime forces targeting Aleppo were aided by Russian firepower on land in Syria and off the coast in the Mediterranean.
Troops loyal to Assad finally ousted rebels from the city last month in their biggest victory in more than five years of fighting, paving the way for the Kremlin to launch a fresh push for a political solution to the conflict.Troops loyal to Assad finally ousted rebels from the city last month in their biggest victory in more than five years of fighting, paving the way for the Kremlin to launch a fresh push for a political solution to the conflict.
Putin ordered a reduction in his forces in Syria on 29 December as he announced a ceasefire between government and rebel forces. Many rebel fighters and western diplomats claimed it was Iranian-backed artillery as much as Russian air power or Syrian ground forces that made the regime’s siege of Aleppo impossible to stop. The ongoing presence of Iranian-backed forces in Syria has led Turkey to warn that the Astana talks are in jeopardy.
Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is pushing for peace talks to be held this month in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana. Fighting in Syria is set to continue, notably in the north-western province of Idlib, where many opposition fighters have been sent from Aleppo and other towns where sieges have been lifted. The Assad regime said on Thursday it was ready for an open battle with opposition forces in Idlib.
Putin announced a partial withdrawal of Russian forces in March 2016, but Moscow later ramped up its presence again as fighting increased. Kurdish-led forces said on Friday they had taken control of a castle on a hilltop overlooking a strategic town held by Islamic State, less than 20 miles from the militant group’s de facto capital of Raqqa. The advance brings the Syrian Democratic Forces within four miles of the strategic Tabqa dam and town.
Isis is also fighting against Turkish-backed Syrian rebels in areas further west and the Syrian army in Deir al-Zor province and near the city of Palmyra, which Isis seized for a second time in December.
There has also been fighting between the Syrian government and opposition groups in the Barada valley north of Damascus, disrupting the water supply to millions of people living in or around the Syrian capital. The UN’s humanitarian adviser for Syria, Jan Egeland, said on Thursday it was impossible to tell if disruption to water supplies had been caused by Syrian government bombardment or rebel sabotage, but warned both sides that targeting water sources constitutes a war crime.