Vladimir Putin's explicit approval for President Donald Trump's decision undermines a claim by the president that Russia would not be happy with the U.S. withdrawal. | Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images Foreign Policy Putin: Trump pulling troops out of Syria is 'the right decision'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday applauded President Donald Trump's decision to begin pulling U.S. forces out of Syria, telling reporters at a press conference that he agrees with Trump's assessment that the Islamic State has been defeated in the conflict-ravaged nation.

“On this, Donald is right. I agree with him," Putin said of Trump's assertion that the militant group has been defeated in Syria, where Russian troops have supported the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.


While Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday morning that his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria should be "no surprise," the move blindsided many in Washington and drew condemnation from some of the president's most ardent Republican supporters on Capitol Hill.

GOP lawmakers almost universally railed against Trump’s decision on Wednesday, slamming both the move itself and the lack of notice from the White House. Many disputed his assertion that the Islamic State had been defeated, calling the U.S. withdrawal a victory for Russia and Iran, who have aided the Assad regime in its yearslong battle against U.S-backed rebels in the Syrian civil war.

Putin on Thursday claimed that the presence of U.S. troops in Syria was “illegitimate” to begin with and that fighters there had “struck major blows” against the Islamic State, which is also often referred to by the acronym ISIS.

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“As for defeating ISIS, I do generally agree with the president of the United States. We've achieved some major advances when it comes to defeating the terrorists,” Putin said.

“Whether do we need the presence of the American military, I guess we do not need that presence,” he continued. “The presence of your troops is illegitimate so if you've made this decision it is the right decision.”

Putin's explicit approval for Trump's decision undermines a claim by Trump — made on Twitter within hours of Putin's remarks — that Russia would not be happy with the U.S. withdrawal. The Russian president's approval could open the door to renewed complaints that Trump's policies are too closely aligned with those of the Kremlin, a long-standing criticism of the U.S. president.

“Russia, Iran, Syria & many others are not happy about the U.S. leaving, despite what the Fake News says, because now they will have to fight ISIS and others, who they hate, without us,” Trump tweeted, framing his decision as one that had been long coming and in line with his insistence that the U.S. not be the “Policeman of the Middle East.”