Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, a meeting that focused on coordinated plans to recapture the Islamic State-held city of Deir al-Zor and the “strengthened efforts to combat terrorism in all Syrian territory, until its utter annihilation.” The meeting, which according to the Russian Defense Ministry “was ordered by President Vladimir Putin,” also aimed at coordinating Moscow’s efforts to establish de-escalation zones in parts of Syria that, according to a statement by Assad office “sped up the victories of the Syrian army and its allies in fighting terrorism in other areas.”
Meanwhile, the chief of staff of the Russian military contingent in Syria Alexander Lapin declared that Syrian government forces had managed to drive militants from much of the war-torn-country, yet stressed that the war against the Islamic State was far from over, as the extreme Muslim group still controls some 27,000 square-kilometers of Syrian territory. Lapin said, “As of today, 85 percent of Syria’s territory has been cleared of the militants of illegal armed groups. Around 27,000 square km of the Syrian territory is yet to be cleared to complete the defeat of Islamic State on the territory of the republic,” he revealed in a press briefing at the Russian Hmeimim air base in Syria’s Latakia district.
General Lapin further noted that Russian humanitarian aid that includes food and medical supplies was sent behind the Syrian troops conducting the offensive against the Islamic State, with the aim of assuring that the civilian populations that were under siege in the Deir al-Zor region since 2014, would receive much needed relief. The Russian general said, “The Syrian troops are finalizing the defeat of the Islamic State group that has blocked northern and southern districts of Deir al-Zor. Humanitarian aid that includes food and medical supplies was sent behind the Syrian troops that are conducting the offensive,” he noted.
Government forces last week reached Deir al-Zor city, the provincial capital on the Euphrates River, breaking an Islamic State siege of a government-held pocket and a nearby air base. The successful advance by the Syrian army and its Iranian-backed allies was attributed to Russian air support that managed to destroy much of the defenses erected by the Islamic State.