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Ankara / AFP
Russia has kept a considerable military presence in conflict-torn Syria to bolster the regime of President Bashar Al Assad, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
“Despite the announced partial withdrawal we see that Russia maintains a considerable military presence in support of the Assad regime in Syria,” he said at a press conference in Turkey.
A month ago Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised the West by ordering the “main part” of his forces to pull out. Despite Moscow having signed on to efforts to promote a political settlement in Syria, US officials have complained that Russian warplanes appear to be flying in support of Syrian forces attacking rebel positions in Aleppo.
Since the Kremlin said it was scaling down its air presence in the country, regime forces have scored some of their most dramatic successes in areas not covered by a February ceasefire.