Mission Accomplished? Russia Withdraws from Syria

As suddenly and decisively as Russian fighter jets entered Syria in late September of last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin surprised everyone once again yesterday when he announced a withdrawal of his "main forces" from the country. 

“I consider the mission set for the Defense Ministry and the armed forces, on the whole, has been accomplished," Putin said yesterday. "I am, therefore, ordering the Defense Ministry to begin the withdrawal of the main part of our military force from the Syrian Arab Republic tomorrow.”

Putin's "mission accomplished" announcement comes amidst a new round of peace talks in Geneva between the Syrian government and opposition forces.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest wasn't sure how to take the news when he learned of it during his daily briefing yesterday. 

“I haven't seen the reports, so it's hard for me to assess what kind of impact this will have on the talks," Earnest said. "We'll have to see exactly what Russia's intentions are.”

Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, joins The Takeaway to discuss what Putin's announcement means for the situation in Syria.