Putin Orders Partial Russian Pullout From Syria, Says War Nearly Over

President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial pullout of Russian forces in Syria on Monday, saying that conditions for the end of the nearly seven-year-long conflict have been created, Reuters reported.

His comments were made during a surprise visit to Russia’s Hmeimim air base in Latakia province on Monday, where he met with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and Russian troops, in the first such visit by Moscow’s head of state.

“In just over two years, Russia’s armed forces and the Syrian army have defeated the most battle-hardened group of international terrorists,” Putin told Russian forces.

A “significant part” of Moscow’s military contingent should start withdrawing. “The conditions for a political solution under the auspices of the United Nations have been created,” he said.

According to the Associated Press, General Sergei Surovikin, the Russian commander in Syria, said Moscow will pull out “23 warplanes, two helicopter gunships, special forces units, military police and field engineers.” The remaining forces will be enough to “successfully fulfill the tasks” to stabilize the situation in Syria, he said, without specifying how many soldiers and weapons would remain.

It is not immediately clear how many Russian forces are currently based in Syria. Independent Russian military expert Pavel Felgenhauer, however, told Agence France-Presse that around 10,000 troops and private contractors may have played a part in the war.

This is not the first time Russia has claimed it will scale down its military presence in Syria. However, previous statements have not resulted in an actual reduction in military deployment.

The Pentagon on Monday said it was skeptical of Putin’s latest announcement, AFP reported.

“Russian comments about removal of their forces do not often correspond with actual troop reductions, and do not affect U.S. priorities in Syria,” Pentagon spokesperson Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway said.

However, Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday that some elements of Moscow’s military contingent in Syria had already started returning to Russia, Reuters reported, citing the RIA news agency.

SDF and Iraqi Army Meet Along Shared Frontier

Two separate U.S.-backed groups that led the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria linked up at their shared stretch of the frontier on Sunday to coordinate military efforts in the border region.

According to Reuters, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led militia that helped Washington fight ISIS in Syria, said in a statement that it met with Iraqi military leaders and “discussed protecting the Syrian-Iraqi border in the region adjacent to Deir Ezzor province, and how to finally eradicate” ISIS militants in the area.

“The two sides decided to form a joint coordination center to guarantee the security of the border,” the statement added.

Pentagon spokesperson Colonel Rob Manning confirmed the SDF’s statement by saying that the two forces met at the border “in order to reaffirm their commitment to ensure that ISIS does not take root again,” according to AFP.

The SDF captured the city of Raqqa from ISIS in October and is currently fighting the militant group in Deir Ezzor province. It said earlier this month that it has completely driven militants from territory east of the Euphrates river.

Meanwhile, Iraqi forces on Saturday said that their war against ISIS was over after three years of fighting the militant group.

Astana Talks to Resume Next Week

A new round of Russian-sponsored peace talks between the Syrian government and its rivals is scheduled to launch next week in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Agence France-Presse reported on Monday.

Representatives from Iran, Turkey and Russia are also expected to be part of the eighth round of negotiations, which are expected to run for two days beginning December 21.

Talks “will focus on freeing prisoners, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the functioning of de-escalation zones and other issues,” AFP said.

Negotiations in Astana are expected to be held only days after United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva close.

The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said that Geneva talks will run until December 15.

The Syrian opposition is calling on Russia to help salvage the U.N. peace talks, which have been obstructed by government walkouts since negotiations started last month, according to the Guardian.

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