Putin heralds liberation of over 90% of Syrian land

MOSCOW - 26 October 2017: More than 90% of Syria’s territory has been recaptured from terrorists, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, TASS reported.

"I would like once again to thank our military servicemen who take part in the counterterrorism operation in Syria. It was possible to radically reverse the situation thanks to their courage, precise and professional actions and valor. More than 90% of Syria’s territory is already free from terrorists," the president said at a meeting with senior officers and prosecutors on the occasion of appointing them to higher ranks, conferring higher military and civil service ranks upon them.

He recalled that the de-escalation zones are being set up in concert with the Syrian authorities, while the political settlement and civil reconciliation process is gaining momentum.

Earlier in the day, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Russian nationals, who had joined the terrorists or were involved in terrorist activities somehow and confronted the Syrian army weapons in hand, let alone used them against Russian military participating in the operation were criminals and were being eliminated.