Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syria

political transition: What remains critical is that a Syrian-led political transition is afforded the best chance at success." Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will pull some of his country troops out of Syria, according to CTV. The development raised hopes for success in the Syrian peace talks that began Monday in Geneva. "I'm ordering the defence minister to start the pullout of the main part of our group of forces in Syria, beginning tomorrow," Putin said Monday on Russian television. But John McCallum said it was too early to say whether the Russian announcement will prove to be positive. "Anything that can heighten the odds of an end to the civil war, heighten the odds of a reduction in the literally millions of people displaced by this terrible war, anything that will do that is good," the minister said. "Whether this will be a materially positive development or not remains to be seen." Chantal Gagnon, a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, said Canada is following the situation closely "to see how Russia intentions unfold. He didn't say how many troops would be withdrawn, nor is it known how many Russian military personnel are operating inside Syria. On Tuesday, Syria will mark the fifth anniversary of the civil war that started with an uprising against Assad that has killed 250,000 and forced half the country population to flee their homes. "The Syrian situation looks desperate, which is why the world is facing the worst refugee crisis it has seen in decades and it is one of the main reasons why Canada has stepped up to the plate," McCallum said, referring to the Liberal government decision to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees. The U.S. and Russia brokered a cease fire on Feb. 27 that has reduced the violence and has been mostly successful, even though there has been some periodic bloodshed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.