Russia's Putin agrees with Trump that Islamic State defeated in Syria

MOSCOW - 20 December 2018: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he largely agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump that Islamic State had been defeated, but added that he was sceptical whether the United States would withdraw fully from Syria.

Trump said on Wednesday that the United States had defeated the radical Islamist militant group in Syria, and that this fulfilled the only goal for keeping U.S. troops in the country.

Putin said Moscow had not noted any signs of a U.S. withdrawal, and that the United States had many times said it was leaving Afghanistan, but still retained a presence there.