Russia's Putin visits Syria airbase and orders start of pullout
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, during an unannounced visit there on Monday.
Mr Putin was met by Syrian President Bashar Assad as he arrived at the Russian Hmeimim air base, Interfax news agency reports.
He had already declared in March 2016 that he was planning to pull out the majority of Russian troops.
Source: bbc.com