Putin Visits Syria Base, Orders Partial Russian Withdrawal
(World News Russia)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a surprise visit to Syria and ordered the Russian military to start withdrawing a "significant portion" of its forces from the war-ravaged Middle Eastern nation. "I order the defense minister and the head of the general staff to begin the withdrawal of the Russian group of forces to their permanent places of deployment," Putin said in comments to servicemen at Russia`s air base in Syria on December 11. Putin, who met at the Hmeimim base with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, said that...