Putin has announced he will pull out of the country of Syria to avoid an unwanted liability. At press time, Vladimir stated that his reasons were many. One was a lack of protection; Syria is a dangerous region, and without more serious precautions, it could be very risky to stay inside [the area]. Furthermore, Putin really didn't know Syria well enough that it would be justified to stay inside. It would be an "awkward situation", and perhaps one that was not communicated well enough. After all, despite some initial conversations, Syria never explicitly stated that it wants Russia to remain inside for the duration of the engagement and "finish the job". Russia had only considered a temporary engagement and so a prolonged one would necessitate Syria to puruse some kind of Plan B.
Another consideration was Russia's budget. Russia had taken a large revenue hit due to decreases in oil prices. If Russia had stayed inside and was "unlucky", then Russia would end up with something it "really could not afford right now. I mean, maybe in the future, like the waaaaaaay future, but I don't think it's going to happen in this point of our history, what with the economy and instability."
Putin stated that he had not actually asked Bashar al-Assad if he should pull out. "I kind of just told [him]. I'm not going to let anybody just rope me into something I might not want or can even afford. I mean, shit! I don't care if it makes [Syria] feel great [about their security]. Nobody has the right to make Bad Vlad do something he doesn't want! Or isn't ready for."
Asked if there are other countries he would feel differently about, he admitted that there are a few countries that he had visited recently that he would much prefer to "commit to". "I've just been thinking about our future lately and it seems to me that I should focus more on those other countries. And if we ended up penetrating [their hearts] I would not consider it a bad thing to just leave some soldiers inside."
"But that doesn't mean Syria is a bad place. We have a lot of history, and I cherish that."