Assad meets Putin in Syria as Russian forces close to withdrawing

DAMASCUS - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Syria on Monday, the presidential media office reported.

For the first time since the beginning of the Syrian conflict over six years ago, Putin visited the Russian-run Hmeimim Air Base in Syria's coastal city of Latakia.

Putin met there with Assad and inspected the Russian forces there, according to the report.

During his visit, Putin ordered his defense minister to prepare for withdrawing the Russian forces, according to the report.

He added that "if the terrorists raised their heads again, we will deal them a blow they haven't seen before."

However, the Russians will keep their presence in the Hmeimim Air Base in Latakia and the naval base they have for long controlled in the nearby coastal city of Tartus.

It's also not clear when the Russian forces will completely withdraw amid reports by local media outlets that large portion of the forces will leave, but not all of them.

Meanwhile, Putin also informed Assad that he will discuss the Syrian settlement with the presidents of Turkey and Egypt during his upcoming visit to their respective countries.

For his part, Assad thanked Putin for his forces' contribution in fighting terrorism in Syria, stressing that the sacrifices of the Russian soldiers will not be forgotten.

The Russian forces entered Syria in 2015 to shore up the forces of Assad in their fight against the rebels.

The backing of the Russian forces and air power enabled the Syrian army to retrieve key areas across the country, such as rebel-held areas in Aleppo, the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria as well as the eastern city of Deir al-Zour from the Islamic State.