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Conflict in Syria

Syria’s government troops control nearly 98% of territory — Putin

Pockets of resistance remain, but they are shrinking under the strikes of the Russian Aerospace Force and the Syrian allies, Putin said

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

SOCHI, November 21. /TASS/. Syria’s government troops control nearly 98% of the country’s territory and the terrorists’ remaining pockets of resistance are shrinking, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his opening remarks at a meeting with Czech President Milos Zeman on Tuesday.

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Active phase of Syria military operation nears end — General Staff

"You are quite right. It is true that government troops in Syria control more than 98% of the territory," he said. "Pockets of resistance remain, but they are shrinking under the strikes of our Aerospace Force and the Syrian allies," Putin said.

At the beginning of the meeting Zeman mentioned Putin’s talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad last night.

"You’ve attained victory in Syria. He [Assad] is in control of practically the whole territory of Syria, except for some small areas," Zeman said in Russian. "Lastly, he is a democratically elected president."

Putin promised to review in detail the results of his talks with Assad.

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