President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to scale down its presence in Syria, where it has provided crucial support to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

It all happened after the Syrian army announced a nationwide cease-fire set to begin at midnight.

Putin didn’t say how many troops would be withdrawn, but did say the Russian military will maintain some presence in the country.

The cease-fire is expected to be followed by renewed peace negotiations to end nearly 6 years of conflict.