Russia: Putin orders Russian military withdrawal from Syria - Full statement

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• published: 14 Mar 2016
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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to begin the withdrawal of Russian forces from Syria starting Tuesday, during a meeting in Moscow on Monday. “I consider the objectives that have been set for the Defence Ministry to have generally been accomplished. That is why I order the start of the withdrawal of the main part of our military contingent from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic starting from tomorrow,” Putin said during the meeting with Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. SOT, Vladimir Putin, Russian President (Russian): "Russia in a short period of time created a numerically small but very effective military force, of diverse capabilities and means. Those included space space reconnaissance, unmanned aerial vehicles, battle strike systems including interceptor aviation as well as ground-strike aviation, the naval forces that used the most modern weapons from the waters of the Mediterranean and the Caspian seas, launching from both surface ships and submarines. We created a powerful air defense system, including the most modern complex, the S-400. Indeed, the effective work of our military created the conditions for the start of the peace process. I believe that the objectives put before the defense ministry and Russian armed forces in Syria have, on the whole, been fulfilled. With the participation of the Russian military, the Russian military units, the Syrian armed forces and patriotic Syrian forces have been able to achieve a fundamental turnaround in the fight against international terrorism and have seized the initiative in almost all respects, creating as I mentioned the conditions for the start of the peace process. Moreover, our military, soldiers and officers demonstrated professionalism, teamwork and the ability to organize combat work far away from their own territory, having no common borders with the theater of war, They worked effectively for half a year ensuring the necessary supplies and conducting military operations. I consider the objectives I had set for the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces as a whole to be accomplished, so I order the Minister of Defence to begin tomorrow withdrawing the main part of our military forces from the Syrian Arab Republic. And I ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intensify the participation of Russia in the organization of the peace process for the resolution of the Syrian problem. That said, our naval base in Tartus and air base at Hmeymim airport - will continue to operate as previously. They should be protected from land, sea and air. These are part of our military contingent that have traditionally and for many years been located in Syria and now will have to perform a very important function of monitoring the cease-fire and the creation of conditions for the peace process. I hope today's decision will send a strong signal to all sides of the conflict, I hope this significantly increases the level of trust between all participants of the peace process in Syria and help the resolution of the Syrian question by peaceful means." Video ID: 20160314-065 Video on Demand: http://www.ruptly.tv Contact: cd@ruptly.tv Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ruptly Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ruptly LiveLeak: http://www.liveleak.com/c/Ruptly Vine: https://vine.co/Ruptly Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/Ruptly YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/RuptlyTV DailyMotion: http://www.dailymotion.com/ruptly