Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
RUSSIA’S DEFENCE MINISTRY said today that its military at the Russian air base in Syria is preparing for some of the planes and fighter jets to leave and return home following a pullout order from President Vladimir Putin.
The statement came a day after Putin announced the withdrawal of most of the Russian forces from Syria, timing his move to coincide with the resumption of Syria peace talks in Geneva.
The start of the negotiations in Switzerland yesterday offered Putin an opportune moment to declare an official end to the five-and-a-half-month Russian air campaign that has allowed Syrian President Bashar Assad’s army to win back some key ground and strengthen his positions ahead of the talks.
With Russia’s main goals in Syria achieved, the pullback will allow Putin to pose as a peacemaker and help ease tensions with NATO member Turkey and the Gulf monarchies vexed by Moscow’s military action.
At the same time, Putin made it clear that Russia will maintain its air base and a naval facility in Syria and keep some troops there. Syria’s state news agency also quoted Assad as saying that the Russian military will draw down its air force contingent but won’t leave the country altogether.
Speculation
The Syrian presidency said Assad and Putin spoke on the phone Monday and jointly agreed that Russia would scale back its forces in Syria.
It rejected speculation that the decision reflected a rift between the allies and said the decision reflected the “successes” the two armies have achieved in fighting terrorism in Syria and restoring peace to key areas of the country.
The Syrian army said it would continue its operations against the Islamic State group, al-Qaida’s Syria branch known as the Nusra Front and other militant factions in Syria that have been designated as terrorist groups by the United Nations “with the same tempo.”
Today, Russia’s defense ministry said its military personnel is currently loading equipment and materiel on cargo planes and getting ready for the withdrawal.
The ministry said the jets will be accompanied by military transport aircraft and will be making stops at airfields in Russia for refuel and technical checks since some of them are stationed more than 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) away from the Syria base.
Moscow did not indicate when the first planes are scheduled to leave.
Announcing his decision in a televised meeting with Russia’s foreign and defense ministries, Putin said Monday that the Russian air campaign has allowed Assad’s military to “radically” turn the tide of war and helped create conditions for peace talks.
Putin didn’t specify how many planes and troops would be withdrawn. The number of Russian soldiers in Syria has not been revealed. U.S. estimates of the number of Russian military personnel in Syria vary from 3,000 to 6,000.
Also, Russia has deployed more than 50 jets and helicopters to its Hemeimeem air base, in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I had one and wanted to start the fire myself….
That would put Zafira God into ya!
Some cigarette lighter there…
It amazes me that a story like this makes headlines but the fact that the 2nd biggest fishing trawler the FV Margiris is off the Coast of Donegal at the minute HOVERING up fish, its nets are so big they can hold 13 Jumbo jets, this same ship was banned from Australia coasts,…but hay we shouldn’t complain ….we do get a 4% fish quota for OUR waters !!!!!! So next time your scoffing down a cancer laden horse burger whilst sitting in your Zafria ….ask yourself, why is it that even though were an island surrounded by water , we have very little fish in out diet ?
Currently there are large shoals of Bluefin Tuna of the west coast, but its illegal for us to catch them, as we don’t have any quota for them.
Can i see your copy of Swank, Armin?
This is where it is at the moment :http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:353383/zoom:10
And to quote ABC news:
Nathaniel Pelle, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner says ‘vessels like the FV Margiris and its bloated fleet of heavily subsidised European trawlers have fished their own waters to near collapse and they’ve brought fisheries to their knees everywhere they’ve been since’.
Greenpeace points out that the Margiris ‘is linked to the European Pelagic Freezer-Trawler Association (PFA), an EU taxpayer-subsidized fleet with a history of leaving collapsed fisheries and out-of-work fishermen in its wake’.
“The South Pacific jack mackerel fishery, a favourite of the Margiris and the PFA, made headlines this year when fish populations plummeted by ninety percent.
“Off West Africa almost all the PFA’s target species are now fully exploited or overexploited, prompting the Senegalese government to expel all PFA vessels from their waters.”
TheBrain…never heard of it…but I see it now n/w of Donegal with a Dutch vessel..30 years old,almost 10k gross tonnage,Lithuanian flag,in and out of Dutch ports.tell us more….
Since joining the EU in ’73 to 2010 Ireland has received €72 billion in funds and we have contributed about €31 Billion so we got €41 billion, not bad until you look at the fisheries, 1975-210 Our fisheries were worth €201 Billion commercially, we took €17 Billion of that ….which left the EU with a nice €140 billion worth of our fish ………..not a bad days work……sure what could we have done with 100 billion euro???
TheBrain…any suggestions?
Armin…we do have a minister for all this,don’t we??we used to have..I know Coveney looks after the Med ferries…….
Zafira, If the emissions don’t get ya, the Fire will.
They don’t make em like they used to.
Mine is 16 years old. I’m going to demand a full refund!!
Never cut off a guy in a vest driving an MPV. He’s got nothing to lose.
A few articles down theres a sponsored article for opel corsas…no thanks!
Zafire sale?
New spec in opels Bluetooth,sat nav,fire extinguisher. ……
Definitely a hot topic.
Burning is the best thing to do to these and all such peoplewagons
So how are family’s supposed to get around?
As the Kings of Leon once sang – whoa ooh, your Zafiras on fire…..
No they didn’t. They never even sang anything that sounds remotely like that! Why would you lie like that??
Yeah. Everyone knows it was Johnny Cash sang that.
Wasn’t he the guy who sang the Macarena?
no, he sang cotton eye joe
Ah right. I thought that was Andrea Bocelli
and i just realised the ‘eye’ connection there… unintentional… wouldn’t have gone there, to be honest
I love how the sponsored link on the app today is for opel
It was first in the queue for the Passage West to Cobh ferry and was waiting on the slipway for the ferry to arrive, good job that it did not go on fire on the ferry boat.
Looks like the firemen are going to push it down the slip into the water!
Pun
have your say