The Indian Express reported on March 14, 2016, Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin recently ordered most of his troops to withdraw from Syria. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was engaging in peace treaties with his opposition, as Putin’s forces further vacated Syria. Putin has been striking Syria from the air since Sept. 30, 2015. Putin has left Syria as suddenly as he entered.
Daily Mail continued to report the refugees left Syria after realizing their leader was no longer competent because of the Syrian Civil War. The site later reported Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed his government cut off the supply of aid to Anti-Assadists groups, who were supported by the West, and killed more than 2,000 of them. However, the article finally stated the West sent billions of dollars to the rebels despite their defeat.
CNN also claimed Putin withdrawing from Syria would leave the Syrians to “fend for themselves.” The network continued, stating how Russia leaving the area was as shocking as when the airstrikes first started in the region this past September. Assad stated he was not surprised because the Syrians and Russians agreed that Putin would leave after they “achieved certain jobs.” The Syrian president also stated one of the jobs that Russia achieved was to “fight terrorism.”
Putin stated in the article that his armed forces achieved their goal, which was assigned to them by the ministry of defense. CNN claimed critics of Moscow reported the way they fought terrorist groups, like ISIS in the war-ravaged region, was not done accurately. Additionally, CNN claimed that bombing ISIS occupied areas, where civilians lived, put them in line to eliminate Assad’s enemies.
When Assad’s Senior Advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, was asked if Russia’s withdrawal was a case of mission accomplished she replied, many villages, towns, and a huge part of Syria have been “liberated from armed gangs.” She continued, stating that she was happy to see Russian and American forces coordinating to fight terrorism.
The network claimed Putin announced that his forces would be leaving Syria while Syrian peace talks resumed at Geneva, Switzerland on Monday. At the peace talks, the Syrian government and their opposition talked indirectly through a mediator. The talks are a way to try to bring peace back to the region. Syria’s main opposition faction, “The High Negation Committee,” stated that it “welcomed Russia’s drawdown.”
The opposition group’s spokesman, Salim al-Muslet, claimed that Russian Forces and their crimes, until this moment, have kept Assad in power. Muslet also stated that if Russia was actually going to depart it would put an end to terrorism in the nation of Syria. Muslet claimed that Putin put pressure on Assad to accept the outcome of the Genovese talks.
CNN concluded that Russia has economic and ideological reasons to support the Syrian regime. Russia has sold Syria weapons for billions of dollars for what CNN claimed is a revolution that will not bring stability to the region. CNN stated that Russia led hundreds of U.S. airstrikes in support of Assad in Syria over the last three months. Russia would leave Syria as suddenly as they entered.
By John A. Federico
Edited by Cathy Milne & Jeanette Smith
Sources:
The Indian Express: Timeline: Russia’s involvement in five-year-long Syrian civil war
Daily Mail: As a craven West caves into Putin, this could be the biggest shift in power since Suez, writes JOHN R. BRADLEY
CNN Politics: Russia begins withdrawing forces from Syria
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