By: Earnest Jones | 01-07-2017 | News
Photo credit: The Goldwater

Russia Withdraws Aircraft Carrier Group From Syria

Russia has withdrawn aircraft carrier group from Syria after it made a statement saying that all combat tasks assigned to the aircraft carrier group have been accomplished. In a report made by the Defense ministry on Friday, Russian government is scaling down on its military presence in Syria by returning the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and its group from the Mediterranean Sea back to Russia.

In a report issued by RT.com, the Kuznetsov group will return to Severomorsk, where its home base is located. This was after the chair of the Russian General Staff Army Gen. Valery Gerasimov made an announcement on Friday.

Following the negotiations between Russia, Iran, and Turkey, a ceasefire deal between Russia and the two nations was agreed upon and hence Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial pullout of military forces from Syria. Putin made a statement in which he said that the ceasefire offered an opportunity for the six-year armed conflict in the Middle Eastern nation to end.

The Kuznetsov carrier group was deployed to Syria in mid-October 2016 alongside three other warships and several support ships that accompanied it. Col. Gen. Andrey Kartapolov, commander of the Russian forces in Syria pointed out that the carrier group used its warplanes to attack militant forces and also used the Mediterranean mission to equip other branches of the Russian military. Adding that warplanes deployed to the Khmeimim Air Base near Latakia interacted with the carrier groups. The shore-based Bastion cruise missile batteries also interacted with the carrier group. The group also established a joint air defense over Syria involving ship-based and ground-based systems.

“All combat tasks assigned to the aircraft carrier group have been accomplished,” Kartapolov said.

As the Russian military pulls out of Syria, Damascus reiterated its gratitude for Russia’s help in the conflict.

“The support that the Russian Air Force offered was crucial for our victories, which paved the way for a ceasefire and created the conditions for launching a political settlement of the Syrian crisis,” the chair of the general staff of the Syrian armed forces, Lt. General Ali Abdullah Ayyoub, said, as reported by RIA Novosti.

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