The defense minister reminded that Syrian army liberated 500 settlements and over 10,000 square kilometers of the territory with the help of Russian aviation

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russian servicemen in Syria are now focusing on political settlement and delivering humanitarian aid but they will also continue destroying the financial base of terrorists, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Wednesday. "Russian efforts today focus on political settlement of the conflict, delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the regions liberated from terrorists. We have already delivered over 700 tons of food, medicaments, necessities to Syria," Shoigu said at the 5th Moscow International Security Conference.

He noted that Russian servicemen "plan to consistently destroy the economic base of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - former name of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia) as their main source of income is oil smuggling." "A powerful blow was dealt to terrorism in Syria. Military, material, technical and financial infrastructure of militants was undermined, their training camps and ammunition depots were destroyed," Shoigu said. The defense minister reminded that Syrian army liberated 500 settlements and over 10,000 square kilometers of the territory with the help of Russian aviation. Government forces and "patriotic opposition" managed to gain an upper hand in all key directions and "create conditions for starting a peaceful process in the country," he concluded. Russian Defense Ministry positively assesses cooperation with US in Syria According to Shoigu, the Russian Defense Ministry positively assesses cooperation with US in Syria but Moscow and Washington should work together closer in the fight against terrorism. "In general, we positively assess our cooperation with the United States in Syria. The bilateral agreement on preventing air incidents is working. Military agencies responsible for truce are cooperating," Shoigu said at the 5th Moscow International Security Conference.