MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov lashed out at the US-led illegal military presence in Syria on Thursday during a briefing with the military attaches of foreign states. According to the top military official, this weakens the effectiveness of the fight against the terrorists and contributes to their strengthening across the war-torn Middle East nation.

"Illegal armed groups have not abandoned their plans of territorial expansion. The illegal military presence of the US and a number of other countries on Syrian soil contributes to this, and makes the fight against terrorists less effective," Gerasimov pointed out.

According to him, the Russian Aerospace Forces jointly with Syrian government forces have been continuing raids to stamp out terrorists in addition to providing assistance for the return of refugees, along with restoring infrastructure and the country’s territorial integrity.

"Work with the Turkish side is in progress to implement existing agreements and uphold the cessation of hostilities in the Idlib de-escalation zone," the top Russian military official noted.