MOSCOW, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Two planes left Moscow for Beirut, capital of Lebanon, Tuesday to pick up Russian nationals who wish to leave Syria, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
A Yak-42 plane hopped off from the Domodedovo airport at noon (0800 GMT) while an Il-76 left a few minutes later from the Ramenskoye airport, both in Moscow region, the ministry's information department told the Interfax news agency.
The planes would take back some 100 Russian nationals "who wish to leave Syria," the department said, stressing "this is not an evacuation."
The ministry has also set a hotline for relatives of the Russians who are leaving Syria.
The Russian Embassy in Damascus said the Russians "have been living in conflict hotbeds and their homes were destroyed."
No Russian diplomatic staff would be on the planes back to homeland, Interfax quoted an embassy source as saying.
Given that more Russian citizens are seeking to go home, more planes would be dispatched, the source said, adding "no one is forced to leave."
The 22-month-old Syrian crisis has been deteriorating as the government's vision for ending the bloodshed has been rejected by the opposition.
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