MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Vladimir Putin orders Russian troops to withdraw from Syria

In the his first visit to the Hmeymim base in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered all Russian armed forces to withdraw completely from Syria, saying Russian forces return from Syria victorious.

“I’ve instructed the Defense Minister and the head of the General Staff, to begin the withdrawal of the Russian troops to the places of their permanent location,” Putin said, when speaking to servicemen in Syria.

Russia declares total annihilation of ISIS in Syria

Vladimir Putin was met by Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, when he arrived at the Hmeymim base in the Latakia province for the first time since the launch of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in the Arab Republic at the request of Damascus in 2015.

Putin emphasized that “if the terrorists rear their heads again, they will be met with a force, the likes they have never seen.”