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Russia able to increase military presence in Syria anytime: Putin

Xinhua, March 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that his country could quickly re-deploy forces in Syria if the situation there worsens.

"If necessary, Russia will be able to increase its force in the region literally within a few hours to an adequate size to deal with the situation and use the whole arsenal available," Putin said.

Putin made the remarks at an award ceremony for military personnel who participated in operations in Syria.

Russia began to withdraw troops from Syria on Tuesday, after an air campaign of more than five months in the country at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The pullout came after a regime of cease-fire brokered by Russia and the United States came into force on Feb. 27, and intra-Syrian negotiations started Monday in Geneva, Switzerland.

Putin warned against violations of the truce, saying "if violations of the truce were conducted by any groups, they would be automatically excluded from the (truce observance) list the United States provided us."

Russia would keep its two military bases in Syria running after the withdrawal, with the protection of missile systems.

The Russian president said the campaign, which cost 33 billion rubles (464 million U.S. dollars), had been an opportunity to test Russian weapons in real combat.

"These are the costs of strengthening the defense capacity of our country, of solving strategic and operational tasks aimed to ensure Russia's security," Putin said. Endi