Putin, security council discuss keeping Russia air force presence in Syria

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the country's security council on Friday and discussed keeping Russia's air force presence in Syria following the U.S. missile strikes, the Kremlin said. "The meeting expressed deep concern about the unavoidable negative consequences stemming from the aggressive action for the fight against global terrorism," it said in a statement. It added that the council had discussed keeping a Russian airforce presence in Syria to support the anti-terrorist operations of the Syrian army. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; writing by Sujata Rao)