President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian military to start the withdrawal of the ‘main part’ of the forces from Syria on Monday. The decision was made during a meeting at the Kremlin with Putin’s defense and foreign ministers. The pullout will start as soon as Tuesday.
Putin said that the Russian military campaign had “largely achieved” its goals. There is no indication if airstrikes will continue or not.
The Russian President also ordered that Russia intensify its role in the peace process to end the conflict in Syria.
“The task that was set before our defense ministry and armed forces has as a whole been completed and so I order the defense ministry to from tomorrow start the withdrawal of the main part of our military contingents from the Syrian Arab Republic,” Putin told Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in televised comments.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin telephoned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to inform him of Russia’s decision to withdrawal.
Putin’s decision comes one day before the 5th anniversary of the start of the Syrian civil war.
By Putin stating that Russia’s military campaign having “largely achieved” its goals, it is clear that their intent to get involved in Syria was not to wipe out ISIS since the terrorist group is still thriving in Syria. Instead the motive was to help decimate all opponents of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad, who is an ally of Putin.