Putin orders start of withdrawal of bulk of Russian troops from Syria

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the withdrawal of the bulk of the country's armed forces who were present in Syria.

The pullout was due to start on the following day.

Russian president Vladimir Putin said he hoped Monday’s decision would provide a good signal for all sides in the conflict, helping to increase the level of trust among all participants in the peace process, Interfax reported.

Putin reportedly also instructed the country’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, to “intensify” Russia’s involvement in the organising the peace process.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad had reportedly already been notified of the Kremlin’s decision.