Putin says US withdrawal from Syria is "positive step" Moscow, Ankara and Tehran see the planned US withdrawal from Syria as a positive step, President Vladimir Putin says after a summit with his Turkish and Iranian counterparts. Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran's Hassan Rouhani agreed during the talks that the US pull-out from northeastern Syria "would help finally stabilise this region, where ultimately the legitimate government should re-establish control." Both Russia and Iran back the regime of Syrian president President Bashar al-Assad. SOUNDBITES of Russian president Vladimir Putin