President Vladimir Putin has ordered for the withdrawal of Russia's military from Syria.

Russia's defence ministry has announced that
the first of its aircraft has departed Syria
following the surprise pullout order from
President Vladimir Putin.
The statement came just hours after Putin
announced the withdrawal of most Russian
forces from Syria, timing his move to coincide
with the resumption of Syria peace talks in
Geneva.
The start of the negotiations in Switzerland on
Monday offered Putin an opportune moment to
declare an official end to the five-and-a-half-
month Russian air campaign.
The Russian involvement has allowed Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad's army to win back
key ground and strengthen his positions before
the talks.
Russia did not indicate when the first planes were
scheduled to leave, nor how many aircraft and
troops would be withdrawn.
The number of Russian soldiers in Syria has
never been revealed, but US estimates suggest it
varies from 3,000 to 6,000 military personnel on
the ground.
Putin made it clear that Russia will maintain its
airbase and a naval facility in Syria and keep
some troops there.
Syria's state news agency also quoted Assad as
saying that the Russian military will draw down
its air force contingent but won't leave the
country altogether. Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr said Russia's move
should be viewed as a message to the West that
it does not want open-ended involvement in the
five-year conflict.
But she noted that Russia's military presence
remains significant.
"We have to remember this is not an end to the
military presence. The fact the S-400 defence
system is still on the ground means Russia is
still the main external player in Syria," she said.
Assad's office said he and Putin spoke on the
phone on Monday and jointly agreed that Russia
would scale back its forces in Syria.
It rejected speculation that the decision reflected
a rift between the allies, and said that the
decision highlighted the "successes" the two
armies have achieved during fighting in Syria and
restoring peace to key areas of the country.
Putin said on Monday that he hoped the
withdrawal of Russian troops from Tuesday
would be a stimulus for a political resolution of
the conflict.
"I hope today's decision will be a good signal for
all conflicting parties. I hope it will sizeably
increase trust of all participants in the process,"
he said.
Russian forces have killed more than 2,000 rebel
fighters, including 17 rebel leaders, since the
start of the operation in late September.
Those Russian soldiers who stay in Syria will be
engaged in monitoring the ceasefire regime, Putin
said. Donald Jensen, a former US diplomat who
worked in Moscow, told Al Jazeera that despite
the pullout announcement, Russia still fully backs
its ally Assad.
"I think Russia is committed to keeping him in
power. There are conceivably circumstances
where they'd throw him under the bus. But in
their own mind they are fighting for a principle,
which is the sovereignty of nation states from
outside intervention.
"However, I think this action is also sending a
message to Assad that 'you still depend on us',
and I don't think the Russians have been
particularly happy with Assad's reluctance to talk
to the opposition."
The Syrian conflict has killed more than 250,000
people and displaced almost half the country's
prewar population of 23 million since it began in
March 2011.
A fragile ceasefire has largely held since
February 27, and humanitarian aid deliveries
have resumed in recent weeks.