Syria says Russian pullout was no surprise

GENEVA: Russia´s withdrawal of forces from Syria was a no surprise, Bashar Ja´afari, head of the Syrian delegation at peace talks in Geneva, said on Wednesday.

"The Russian decision to withdraw partially from Syria was taken jointly by a common decision, taken both by President Putin and President Assad. So it wasn´t a surprise for us," Ja´afari told reporters after a meeting at the United Nations.

He also rejected talk of a federal model for Syria and said the government was not yet willing to have direct peace talks with the main opposition delegation.