Many foreign experts
have already touted President Vladimir Putin's decision to start withdrawing
Russia's Aerospace Forces unit from Syria as something that will help stimulate
the process of settling the Syrian crisis politically.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin's decision to begin pulling his country's
Aerospace Forces group out of Syria is aimed at stimulating the process
of reaching a political settlement which will overcome the gridlock
preventing a lasting truce in the Syrian war, according to many
foreign experts, including former US Senate staffer James Jatras.
In an interview
with RT, he
pointed specifically to Russia's air campaign, which had been backing the Syrian Army's anti-terror effort.
"We should bear in mind that the political
settlement of the conflict would have been out of the question
but for Russia's air support of Syria's government forces. This
finally forced the terrorists to shift to defensive actions,"
Jatras said.
He was echoed by political analyst John Wight, who
told RT that the Russian air
strikes on terrorists added
significantly to boosting the Syrian Army's morale, which he said helped
change the situation in favor of Syria's government troops.
"Now, all attention will be focused on Geneva,
where a new round of the Syria peace
talks will take place," he
pointed out.
The resumption of these talks became possible only
thanks to President Putin's decision to start pulling out Russia's Aerospace Forces
from Syria, according to another political analyst, Catherine
Shakdam.
Speaking to RT, she said that Putin's move is aimed
to de-escalate the situation in the region.
"This is an attempt to again start resolving
the Syrian conflict by political means. President Putin and Russia know
full well that they should not be involved in a full-fledged war, especially
if this war is not the ultimate goal," she said.
Bruno Gollnisch, a MEP from France's National Front
party, stated that this decision underscores Putin's willingness to be
engaged in a dialogue with the international community.
"I believe that Vladimir Putin is absolutely right
that he decided to begin the withdrawal of Russian troops
from Syria. This only proves that the global community should conduct a
dialogue with Putin rather than isolate him," Gollnisch said.
On Monday, Putin announced that the Russian armed forces
had fulfilled their mission
in Syria and their
withdrawal would begin the following day.
Moscow will, however, maintain a military presence
in Syria, and a deadline for a complete pullout has not yet been
announced. Putin also indicated that Russian forces will remain at the
port of Tartus and Hmeymim airbase in Latakia.
Source: Sputnik News 15-03-2016
