MOSCOW, Oct. 12 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to withdraw to their permanent bases after military exercises in Rostov region near the border with Ukraine, the Kremlin said, in a sign of some tension easing before a key meeting next week.

The troop pullout came before an expected meeting between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko in Milan next week, Reuters reported.

The Kremlin said that the Russian president had met his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu.