The first Russian planes flew out of Syria yesterday, at the start of a surprise withdrawal that diplomats hope would boost a new round of UN-backed peace talks.
UN special envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura described the Russian pullout as a “significant development” for the talks that began in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday.
“We hope will have a positive impact on the progress of the negotiations,” he said in a statement.
Photo: EPA
A group of Su-34 bombers and a Tu-154 transport plane left Moscow’s Hmeimim base in Syria headed for Russia, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, one day after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered most of his forces out of the war-torn nation.
Putin on Monday said Moscow’s military goal had been “on the whole” completed about five-and-a-half months and 9,000 combat sorties after the Kremlin launched its bombing campaign in support of long-time ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Western leaders reacted cautiously to the announcement, with Moscow yet to specify a timeframe for the withdrawal and set to maintain its air and naval base and advanced air defense systems in Syria.
Hopes for a breakthrough at the Geneva talks remained remote, with both sides locked in a bitter dispute over al-Assad’s future as the conflict in Syria entered its sixth year.
As the talks entered their second day, de Mistura was expected to hold his first official meeting with the Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC), which has repeatedly said that al-Assad cannot be part of Syria’s political future.
However, the withdrawal of the Russian troops — which began with airstrikes in support of the regime in September last year, sparking condemnation from Western powers — is expected to put more pressure on al-Assad to negotiate during the Geneva talks.
“If the announcement of a withdrawal of Russian troops materializes, this increases the pressure on President [al-]Assad to finally negotiate in a serious way in Geneva a political transition which maintains the stability of the Syrian state and the interests of all populations,” German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin also said the Kremlin’s move would boost chances of a diplomatic solution to a conflict that has killed more than 270,000 people and displaced millions.
The White House said US President Barack Obama had spoken to Putin following Russia’s announcement, and discussed the “next steps required to fully implement the cessation of hostilities.”
However, US officials offered a cautious initial assessment of the Kremlin’s decision.
“At this point, we are going to see how things play out over the next few days,” a senior administration official told reporters.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Moscow’s Hmeimim Air Base and its Tartus naval facility would remain functioning and that some military contingents would stay behind.
Russia would continue to use advanced air defense systems to protect its remaining contingent in Syria, Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov said.
“To effectively ensure security, including from the air, the most modern air defense technology is necessary,” he was quoted by Russian agencies as saying.
Syria’s main opposition welcomed the Kremlin’s withdrawal announcement, but said it would wait and see what impact the order would have on the ground.
“We must verify the nature of this decision and its meaning,” opposition High Negotiations Committee spokesman Salem al-Meslet told reporters in Geneva.
Despite the announcement of the withdrawal, the major sticking point at the talks in Geneva appeared to be the fate of al-Assad after Damascus warned that his removal would be a “red line.”
After his first official meeting with the regime on Monday, de Mistura told reporters that “strong statements [and] rhetoric” were part of every tough negotiation and that his initial discussions with Syrian ambassador to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari were “useful.”
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