‘I congratulate you,’ president told Russian service personnel gathered at the base
Thomson Reuters
Posted: Dec 11, 2017 7:33 AM ET
Last Updated: Dec 11, 2017 7:33 AM ET
President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered Russian forces in Syria to start withdrawing, claiming that after a two-year military campaign, Moscow and Damascus had achieved their mission of destroying ISIS.
Putin made the announcement during a surprise visit to Russia’s Hmeymim air base about 300 kilometres northwest of Damascus, where he held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and addressed Russian military service personnel.
Various international forces have made claims of defeating ISIS in different parts of Syria.
Russia first launched airstrikes in Syria in September 2015 in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, turning the tide of the conflict in Assad’s favour while dramatically increasing Moscow’s own influence in the Middle East.
Putin on Monday gave the order for Russian forces to start withdrawing to their permanent bases in the country, the Kremlin said on its website.
“The task of fighting armed bandits here in Syria, a task that it was essential to solve with the help of extensive use of armed force, has for the most part been solved and solved spectacularly,” Putin said in remarks broadcast on Russian television.
“I congratulate you,” Putin told Russian servicemen gathered at the base.
He was also quoted as saying that Russia would keep the Hmeymim air base as well as a naval facility at the Syrian port of Tartous.
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