Putin gives Trump a thumbs-up for abrupt Syria withdrawal: 'I do generally agree with the president'

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday gave President Donald Trump a thumbs-up on his abrupt decision to withdraw American forces from Syria.

CNN's Jim Sciutto reports that Putin, speaking at his annual press conference, said Trump's decision to withdraw forces from Syria was "correct," on the grounds that America's primary objective of defeating Islamic State had been achieved.

"As for defeating ISIS, I do generally agree with the president of the US," he said.

Trump's decision to pull out of Syria was made on Tuesday and it caught Republicans in Congress and even some administration officials completely off guard.

Although the president has long said that he doesn't want to engage in nation building in Syria, many Republicans nonetheless criticized him for making the decision out of the blue without consulting any of America's allies in the region.