UN praises Syrian government victory in Palmyra

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed the Syrian army’s recapture of Palmyra from ISIL terrorists, expressing hope that the Damascus government will try to rebuild and protect the UNESCO-listed city.

According to Press TV, addressing a press conference in the Jordanian capital, Amman, Ban said “the extremist terrorists, they have been not only killing brutally people, they have been destroying human civilizations.”

“We are encouraged and fortunate” that Syrian soldiers regained control of Palmyra, said the UN chief, stressing he was also encouraged that Syria’s government “will try to not only preserve and protect, but try to restore” the site.

In another development, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered felicitations to his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on the liberation of the ancient city of Palmyra after weeks of army operations against ISIL terrorists.

“In a conversation with the Syrian president, Vladimir Putin congratulated his colleague on Syrian forces liberating the city of Palmyra from terrorists, noting the importance of preserving this unique historic city for world culture,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Putin added that his country’s armed forces would continue to assist the Damascus officials in the battle against terrorism and help them “rid their land from extremist groups” despite the partial pullout of Moscow’s military contingent from Syria.

Assad, in turn, “praised the help given by the Russian space and air forces,” stressing that “successes such as the liberation of Palmyra would be impossible without Russia’s support,” Peskov added.

ME