Putin warns his army is ready to re-deploy in Syria if necessary

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Putin warns his army is ready to re-deploy in Syria if necessary
By Catherine Hardy | With REUTERS, AFP, AP, APTN



"It is you, Russia's soldiers, who have paved the way for peace in Syria"

MOSCOW: -- This ceremony marks the end of Russia’s almost six-month campaign in Syria.

Vladimir Putin handed out medals to soldiers returning from the conflict.

Putin said that, if necessary, he wants to give peace a chance.

However, he added the Russian Army could redeploy within hours on Syrian soil where it maintains bases and a state-of-the-art anti-aircraft defence system.

Watchers are interpreting this as a thinly-veiled threat to Turkey, with whom relations have soured since Ankara downed a Russian jet in November.

Putin also paid tribute to five Russian servicemen who have now been acknowledged as having died in the campaign.

Surprise announcement

The international community was taken by surprise on Monday evening when Russia suddenly announced it would begin the partial withdrawal of its troops from Syria.

Officials in Moscow say the withdrawal of the bulk of their forces should be complete in “two to three days”.

1,000 troops are set to remain in Syria. The Kremlin says half are military advisers.

The operation cost 33 billion russian roubles, around 481.5 million US dollars.

Questions remain about whether the casualty figures are accurate and about other costs of the campaign.

What they are saying

“It is you, Russian soldiers, who have paved the way for peace in Syria” Vladimir Putin personally congratulates his returning troops.

“All our partners have been warned and are aware that our anti-aircraft systems will be turned on any target that represents a threat to our troops.” – Putin makes a veiled reference to Turkey, with whom relations have soured since a Russian jet was downed last November.

“We knew that every time we left on a sortie, we were not only protecting the Syrian people but our homeland as well.” – Colonel Viktor Romanov says his troops understood the purpose of the operation.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-03-18

[Publicus]

Declare victory and split tout de suite. It is what the US should have done in Vietnam and what Soviet Russia did do in Afghanistan (in their full retreat).

Vlad the Putin has already spent $400-plus million he didn't have to begin with.

33 billion of the Russian rubble.

Nato sanctions are of course still on and a Snickers bar costs more than a barrel of oil.

[Searat7]

Yes they should be ready to go back and kill more civilians and destroy more public buildings like hospitals, courthouses. I am willing to bet only 10% of their efforts were made against ISIS with most of the bombing done in areas where rebel groups against Assad were located. When there is the inevitable Donor Conference after the war I wonder how much Russia will be willing to pay for all of the unnecessary damage they inflicted on Syria.

[AlexRRR]

Come on guys.....since when does any invading nation foot the bill for there foray?

For the guys that need it spelt out to them....what has the Middle easy got lots of? Hint...more than 1 product, i can think of 3 off the top of my head.

[Scott]

An off-topic post has been removed.

[craigt3365]

Interesting article:

http://www.vox.com/2016/3/15/11240318/putin-syria-withdrawal-retro

Putin didn’t win the Syrian war for Assad. He restored it to a stalemate.

[derator01]

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