UN Security Council hails Russia’s move on military pullout from Syria

UN, March 15. /TASS/. Members of the UN Security Council hail Russia’s announced plans to withdraw the major part of its Aerospace Forces from Syria starting March 15, Ismael Gaspar Martins, the president of the Security Council for March, said. The permanent representative of the Republic of Angola to the UN said all members of the UN Security Council welcomed the decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin and called it a positive step. "We have taken a good note of Russia’s decision to start withdrawing part of their forces," Martins said. "Forces withdrawing means war is taking a different step. So that is good." Martins also said that the news came as a result of a fruitful cooperation between Russia and the United States, and following the Russian military withdrawal the conflict settlement in Syria might assume a different path. The Kremlin press service announced on late Monday that following a telephone conversation between Russian President Putin and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad the two leaders agreed on the pullout of the major part of the Russian Aerospace Forces from the war-torn country since "the Russian Armed Forces fulfilled the fundamental missions, which had been assigned to them." Russia, however, will keep an air traffic control center in Syria to monitor the observation of the ceasefire regime, the Kremlin said. Defense Minister of Russia Sergei Shoigu was ordered to launch the military pullout from Syria starting March 15. Russia has been carrying out an anti-terror operation in Syria since September 30, 2015 at the request of Syrian President Assad. The Russian air task force has been operating against militants in Syria. Some strikes against terrorists were delivered by the Russian Navy. A ceasefire regime has been in effect in Syria since February 27, but it does not apply to the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra groupings (both outlawed in Russia) and some other formations recognized as terrorist groups by the UN Security Council. Read more