Russian President Vladimir Putin To Withdraw Majority Of Troops From Syria : NPR
▻http://www.npr.org/2016/03/14/470427645/russian-president-vladimir-putin-to-withdraw-majority-of-troops-from-syria
One, he’s establishing that he’s a statesman. He wants peace. He’s willing to meet America halfway. He’s also letting the people know at Russia - at home, mission accomplished. I’m decisive. I’m a leader. I’ve come. I’ve done what I got, and I need to go. I’m not going to get stuck in a quagmire.
Secondly, it’s a shot across Assad’s bow, in a sense. Assad’s people were very confident only a week ago that Russia was going to take them all the way, help them reconquer all of Syria. In a sense, Russia’s saying, we don’t have to do that; we’re not necessarily going to do that. Russia is not abandoning Assad in any way. They - Putin has made much too big an investment in Syria. But he’s letting Assad know.
And third, it’s a shot across America’s bow. America does not want to work with Russia and Assad. That was one of the things, I think, that Putin wanted to get done in Syria - is to establish some form of cooperation. And just yesterday, Putin announced that he wanted to work with Russia to take Raqqah back, the capital of ISIS. And I don’t think he’s gotten an answer from the United States. The United States does not want to work with him and Assad. So in a sense, it’s saying, you know, if we leave, you’re going to be left holding the bag in Syria.