GENEVA (Sputnik) — The decision to withdraw the bulk of Russian forces from Syria is a sign of clear commitment made by President Vladimir Putin to facilitate the reconciliation process in war-torn Syria, the head of a UN Human Rights Council's independent inquiry commission on Syria said Tuesday.
"It will be fair to recognize that there is a clear commitment of Putin to the need to support negotiations that will be going here in Geneva," Paulo Pinheiro, head of Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, told reporters.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the withdrawal of the main part of the country's forces from Syria as they had fulfilled the task assigned to them.
Putin said the remaining groupings in Hmeymim base in Syria's Latakia province and the naval base in the port of Tartus would play a key role in monitoring the cessation of hostilities between Syrian government and rebel forces.