The Islamic State (terror group, outlawed in Russia) controls no more than 5% of Syria’s territory, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday, APA reported citing TASS.
"Today, ISIL (former name of IS terror group) controls less than 5%, before the operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, ISIL controlled more than 70% of Syria’s territory," Shoigu told the fourth meeting of defense ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and dialogue partners.
"Some 998 towns and settlements have been liberated, and the liberated territory reaches 503,223 square kilometers. Many militants have been killed. The process of restoring peaceful life in the country has started," Shoigu said.
About 2,500 settlements across Syria have signed reconciliation deals thanks to the focused efforts of the Russian center for reconciliation of warring parties. Since 2015, 1.126 mln people have returned home, including 660,000 this year.
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