Russia Pulls Out of Syria Amid Resumed Peace Talks in Geneva
In a surprising move, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of the majority of the his forces from Syria on March 14. In a statement delivered from the Kremlin, Putin said that he considers “the mission set for the Defense Ministry and the armed forces on the whole [to be] accomplished.”
Putin originally sent troops into Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad in September 2015. According to the Moscow Times, Putin’s aimed to defend Assad and Syria against terrorism. However, many Western analysts note that the Russian forces had also been targeting Assad’s political enemies. They argued that Putin entered Syria explicitly to assist Assad, using his forces to tip the conflict into his favor.
Russia’s troop withdrawal comes amid peace talks in Geneva centered on resolving the five-year Syrian Civil War, which has cost nearly a quarter million lives and led to the misplacement of over four million refugees. On March 14, the United Nations restarted peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition. A Russian withdrawal also comes during a partial ceasefire in Syria, established in cooperation with leaders of Great Britain, France, and Germany, the Moscow Times reports.
According to the BBC, while the “main part” of the troops have withdrawn, Russia will continue limited airstrikes in Syria. Putin stated that Russia will also maintain normal operations at the naval base in Tartus, claiming that Russia still needs to defend itself by “land, air, and sea” from the threat posed by Islamic terrorism. The base in Tartus, a Syrian port city on the Mediterranean, symbolizes the allegiance between the Putin and Assad regimes.
The removal of troops from Syria also allows Russia to put more attention towards other military and political issues, such as Ukraine, where fighting has recently increased in the Donbas region, a focal point of a nearly two-year stalemate. Some fear the withdrawal represents a preparation for military escalation in Eastern Europe. According to Ukrinform, however, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak claims that “the escalation of hostilities in eastern Ukraine on the part of Russia is not linked to withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria.”
Furthermore, as the BBC highlights, Russia may have withdrawn its troops in response to low oil prices and continued Western sanctions, implemented due to its involvement in Ukraine, which have taken a tremendous toll on the Russian economy.
American political analysts, such as Andrew J. Tabler of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, fear that “the Russians are no longer as available for the fight against ISIS, [putting] a longer timetable on this war and a greater burden on the United States and the West,” the New York Times reports. The withdrawal of troops may foreshadow future peace in Syria, yet the ceasefire remains tenuous.