Moscow (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin is often at odds with US policy, but his annual press conference on Thursday highlighted an exception: He agrees with President Donald Trump’s plan for a military exit from Syria.
Putin’s regular year-end press conference is a chance to show off his mastery of the minutiae of domestic and international politics. And he used the occasion Thursday to weigh in on a story that is roiling Washington and its allies: Trump’s surprise announcement of a US troop withdrawal from Syria.
The Kremlin leader’s assessment? He agreed with Trump’s opinion that ISIS had largely been defeated in Syria, and said it was time for the United States to go.
