DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (September 5, 2017) – After the breakthrough of the Syrian troops to the city of Deir ez-Zor, which has been under siege by the Islamic State for years, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally congratulated his Syrian counterpart Baschar al-Assad on this strategic success in the war against the militia ISIS.
“President Putin sent a telegram to Syrian President Assad”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Putin described the breakthrough of the siege as an “important step towards the liberation of Syria from terrorism” and congratulated the Syrian president on this “strategic victory”.
The Syrian government army had broken through the siege of Deir ez-Zor, which has been going on since 2014, according to identical statements from Damascus and Moscow on Tuesday afternoon. The Syrian ground offensive was preceded by massive attacks by the Russian Air Force and a missile attack by the frigate “Admiral Essen” on the IS Jihadists, who have been holding Deir ez-Zor in their hands since 2014.
In the afternoon, the government troops reached the base of the Syrian brigade 137, which was besieged by the Islamic State. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Schoigu personally informed President Putin about the breakthrough of the siege on the city, which had almost 300,000 inhabitants before the war began.
