Putin: Russia’s Operations in Syria Coming to an End

Russian president Vladimir Putin said on Monday that his country’s military operation in Syria is nearing its end, the Associated Press reported.

“Regarding our joint operation to fight terrorists in Syria, this military operation is indeed coming to an end,” he said during surprise talks with President Bashar al-Assad in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

“I’m pleased to see your willingness to work with everyone who wants peace and settlement,” Putin told Assad.

The meeting marks the second time that Assad has ventured outside of Syria since the start of the conflict. The first time was in October 2015, when Assad visited Putin shortly after Russia launched its campaign in support of the Syrian government.

Putin’s comments come only two days after pro-government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, captured the so-called Islamic State’s last major stronghold in Syria.

The president’s remarks also follow a joint statement released by the U.S. and Russia earlier this month, in which the two states affirmed the need for a political, rather than military, solution to the conflict.

The U.S. and Russia are reportedly in talks for a long-term solution to the war.

Monday’s meeting in Sochi also comes two days ahead of a summit between the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey in the Black Sea resort town.

Top Syrian Opposition Negotiator Resigns

The top negotiator of Syria’s opposition announced his resignation on Monday, ahead of upcoming peace talks in Geneva, Agence France-Presse reported.

Riad Hijab announced his resignation on Twitter, only two days before the opposition was to convene in Riyadh to come up with a unified delegation and negotiating stance in preparation for U.N.-led peace talks in the Swiss capital later this month.

Hijab, who has served as the head of the opposition’s High Negotiations Committee (HNC) for nearly two years, said that he was “forced” to resign because of attempts to “prolong the regime of (Syrian president) Bashar al-Assad.”

At least two other HNC officials have announced that they would withdraw from the committee after Hijab announced his resignation.

An unidentified senior HNC official told AFP that Hijab’s resignation “preempted the Riyadh conference on Wednesday, which was planning to form a (new) HNC, elect a new head coordinator and form a delegation to Geneva talks.”

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the resignation will help unify Syria’s opposition on a more “constructive platform,” Reuters reported.

“The retreat of radically minded opposition figures from playing the main role will make it possible to unite this motley opposition – internal and external – on a more reasonable, realistic and constructive platform,” Lavrov said at a news briefing.

“We will support the efforts made by Saudi Arabia in this respect.”

Shells Hit Syrian Capital, Leave Nine Dead

At least nine people were killed on Monday in shelling on the Syrian capital Damascus, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported.

Another 55 people were wounded in the bombing that targeted the Al-Fayhaa Stadium, the Bab Touma district in the Old City, the Khalid Ibn al-Walid and al-Mujtahid neighborhoods, and the Jarmana suburb of the capital, according to the war monitor.

The SOHR did not say who was behind the attacks but Syrian rebel groups based in the nearby Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus have attacked government-held areas in the capital in recent days in response to an uptick in government shelling of the besieged rebel enclave.

Recommended Reads

• The Associated Press: His Country a Smoldering Ruin, but Assad Still in His Seat
• The Washington Post: I Fled Syria Years Ago. Refugee Children Like Me Can’t Give Up On Education
• AFP: Syria ‘De-Escalation Zone’ Sees Civilians Buried Under the Rubble
• The Financial Times: Lebanon’s Bankers See Reconstruction Role in Syria
• War on The Rocks: What an Unfolding Humanitarian Disaster in a U.S-Protected Enclave Tells Us About American Strategy in Syria