MOSCOW (Staff Report) – In an unexpected move, Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced to immediately begin withdrawal of ground forces from Syria as peace dialogue began on Monday to resolve the ongoing conflict in Middle East.
In a statement, Putin said that principle task assigned to ground troops has been accomplished successfully hence the withdrawal of forces will not affect fight in Syria. The Russian Navy and Air Force will continue operations to target rebels and Islamic State militant group.
The development surfaced after a crucial meeting of President Putin with Russian Foreign Minister and Defence Minister. He also telephoned his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Asad to discuss the proposal.
Following the announcement the United States President Barack Obama spoke to Putin via telephone and welcome the move, saying that such encouraging steps will lead to long term stability in the region.
Responding to a query about Russian announcement, Syrian information minister Omran al-Zoubi said that decision was taken in the light of agreement between Russia and Syria and in coordination of leaderships of two countries.
