The Russian Minister of Defense, General Sergey Shoygu, issued a statement on Wednesday morning that addressed the overall success of the Russian military operations in Syria.

“The Syrian Army has managed to liberate 500 towns and 10,000 square km of territory from the terrorist forces inside the country,” General Shoygu added.

Addressing the topic of ISIS’ oil supply routes, General Shoygu stated that Russia is actively targeting the terrorist group’s economic sources in Syria.

General Shoygu also cautioned the critics that wanted to see the Syrian President, Bashar Al-Assad, be removed from office.

He stressed that the overthrowing Mu’ammar Al-Gaddafi in Libya and Saddam Hussein in Iraq did not stop the spread of terrorism, but rather, helped fuel the rise of extremism.

“We cannot be sure that the departure of Bashar Al-Assad will lead to a decline in terrorism,” he concluded.