Putin orders start of Russian military withdrawal from Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu to start the withdrawal of forces from Syria starting Tuesday.

"I consider the objectives that have been set for the Defense Ministry to be generally accomplished. That is why I order to start withdrawal of the main part of our military group from the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic starting from tomorrow," Putin was quoted by Russia Today as saying on Monday during a meeting with Shoigu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"To control the observation of ceasefire agreements in the region, Moscow will keep its Hmeymim airbase in Latakia province," Putin said.

At Moscow's initiative, a phone conversation between Vladimir Putin and Syria's President Bashar Assad was held on Monday evening, the Kremlin reported.

The two leaders agreed that the actions of Russia's Air Force in Syria have allowed them to "profoundly reverse the situation" in connection to fighting terrorists in the region, having "disorganized militants' infrastructure and inflicted fundamental damage upon them."

Source : MENA