Putin denies Russian defeat in Syria, says Israel is the main winner

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin denied on Thursday that Russia's nine-year intervention in Syria had been a failure, but expressed concern about Israel's military operations there since the toppling of his ally Bashar al-Assad. Putin, addressing multiple questions on Syria at a marathon annual news conference, said Moscow had made proposals to the new rulers in Damascus to maintain Russia's air and naval bases in the country.