Putin orders partial Russian troop pullout from Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defence minister to begin pulling out "the main part" of Russian troops in Syria.

The announcement came just hours after peace talks between the Syrian government and the opposition got under way in the Swiss city of Geneva on Monday.

"The task presented to the defence ministry and the armed forces has been completely fulfilled," Putin told Sergei Shoigu, according to the state news agency TASS.

"Thus I order the defence minister to begin withdrawing the main part of our troops from the Syrian Arab Republic."

Putin said he hoped the withdrawal of Russian troops from Tuesday will 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.

"I ask the Russian foreign ministry to intensify Russia’s participation in organising the peace process to solve the Syrian problem."

Shoigu said the Russian troops killed more than 2,000 rebel fighters, including 17 rebel leaders, since the start of the operation.

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesperson, said Putin discussed and coordinated the decision with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.