OIC Welcomes Moscow’s Decision of Partial Withdrawal from Syria

The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Iyad Ameen Madani, said that the OIC welcomes the Russian Federation’s decision, on Monday 14 March 2016, to pull out part of its troops in Syria. He deemed the Russian decision a positive development that would solidify Geneva peace talks, under the auspices of the United Nations, towards a political solution to the Syrian crisis and ending the plight of the Syrian people. The Secretary General reiterated the OIC’s support to the efforts of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, to make progress in the new round of negotiations between the delegations of the Syrian government and the opposition. The Secretary General underscored the OIC’s firm position, which calls for the need to find a political solution in implementation of the Geneva I Communique of 2012. He called on all parties to the conflict to fully comply with the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2254 and 2268 of 18 December 2015 and 26 February 2016 respectively.