Syria and Defence Minister

Russian television: The development raised hopes for success in the Syrian peace talks that began Monday in Geneva. "I'm ordering the defence minister to start the pullout of the main part of our group of forces in Syria, beginning tomorrow," Putin said Monday on Russian television, according to Huffington Post Canada. He didn't say how many troops would be withdrawn, nor is it known how many Russian military personnel are operating inside Syria. But John McCallum said it was too early to say whether the Russian announcement will prove to be positive. "Anything that can heighten the odds of an end to the civil war, heighten the odds of a reduction in the literally millions of people displaced by this terrible war, anything that will do that is good," the minister said. Immigration Minister John McCallum briefs journalists at the Welcome Centre in Toronto Pearson Airport on Thursday, December 31, 2015. "Whether this will be a materially positive development or not remains to be seen." Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will pull some of his country troops out of Syria. Desperate situation' The U.S. and Russia brokered a cease fire on Feb. 27 that has reduced the violence and has been mostly successful, even though there has been some periodic bloodshed. The minister said it would be "seven or eight months" before the government decides on the numbers of Syrian refugees it will admit in 2017. "We will clearly, I think, have more refugees than was the case under the previous government. On Tuesday, Syria will mark the fifth anniversary of the civil war that started with an uprising against Assad that has killed 250,000 and forced half the country population to flee their homes. "The Syrian situation looks desperate, which is why the world is facing the worst refugee crisis it has seen in decades and it is one of the main reasons why Canada has stepped up to the plate," McCallum said, referring to the Liberal government decision to admit 25,000 Syrian refugees. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.