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US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Russia next week to discuss Syria, after Moscow began withdrawing most of its forces from the country.
Mr Kerry said Russia's move, along with the opening of UN-mediated Syria talks in Geneva, may be "the best opportunity" to end the conflict.
The UN special envoy to Syria said the talks now had a new momentum.
The first Russian planes started leaving on Tuesday, a day after Russia's announcement.
However, Russia would continue its air strikes in Syria despite the partial pullout, Deputy Defence Minister Nikolay Pankov said.
"Today, as we mark the fifth anniversary of the start of this horrific war, we may face the best opportunity that we have had in years to end it," Mr Kerry said on Tuesday.
He spoke of an "important phase" in the Geneva talks.
Mr Kerry is expected to go to Moscow some time after Tuesday when he returns from a trip to Cuba.
Meanwhile, the UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, who is mediating in the Geneva talks, welcomed the Russian decision.
"The announcement by President [Vladimir] Putin on the very day of the beginning of this round of Intra-Syrian Talks in Geneva is a significant development, which we hope will have a positive impact on the progress of the negotiations," he said.
As the pullout got under way, Russian air strikes were reported against so-called Islamic State (IS) militants near the IS-held city of Palmyra.
Lebanon's al-Manar TV and the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Syrian forces, supported by Russian air cover, had advanced towards the city.
IS captured Palmyra last May, deliberately destroying parts of the Unesco World Heritage site in scenes which caused outrage around the world.
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