ASTANA, October 30. /TASS/. Key tasks of Russia’s military campaign in Syria have been nearly fulfilled and the Arab republic’s government forces will restore control over its eastern border by the end of 2017, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee Vladimir Shamanov said on Monday.
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"In general, we can say that major tasks of Russia’s military operation in Syria have been almost accomplished," Shamanov told a meeting of the lower houses of parliament of Kazakhstan and Russia in Astana.
"We expect that by the end of this year (Syrian) government forces will restore control over the eastern border of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Islamic State (terror group, outlawed in Russia) won’t exist anymore as an organized military structure," he said.
Russia launched the operation in Syria on September 30, 2015, at the request of the country’s President Bashar al-Assad. Since the beginning of the campaign, more than 1 million Syrian citizens have come back home, Shamanov said.