Tehran, Iran, March 16
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
If Russia withdraws part of its troops from Syria, it will not affect the total cooperation among the allied sides such as Iran, Russia, Syria, as well as Hezbollah, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said.
The Syrian government and people will be the winners against the enemies by help of their allies, he stressed, Tasnim news agency reported March 15.
He went on to quote Russian officials as saying they will escalate their involvement in Syria whenever the occasion requires.
Russia began withdrawing its forces from Syria earlier today. The first group of Russian planes left Hmeymim air base in Syria on Tuesday morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Iran and Russia are supporters of the current Syrian government headed by Bashar al-Assad.