Syria: Putin meets Assad at Russian military base in surprise visit to Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a surprise visit to the Khmeimim Russian military base in Syria's Latakia province, Monday. During the visit, Putin announced the beginning of the withdrawal of Russian troops from the country.
Putin made the surprise visit to Syria ahead of planned trips to meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara to discuss bilateral relations including joint energy projects as well as the security situation in the Middle East, in particular the Syrian conflict and US President Donald Trump's recent decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli State.