"Before sending [the sappers] to Syria, we made the necessary calculations that proved to be correct. These calculations confirmed that the strengthening of our contingent of sappers in Syria with personnel and equipment is not required. Our specialists are able to solve and in fact successfully solve all the tasks with available forces and means," Lt. Gen. Yuri Stavitsky told reporters.
The task to demine Syria’s Palmyra, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had set before the Russian servicemen, has been completed, Stavitsky said.
"The task set before us by the Russian president, it has been fulfilled," Lt. Gen. Yuri Stavitsky told reporters.
The official added that the Russian engineer troops were ready to leave Palmyra as soon as they received a corresponding order.
On March 27, the Syrian army, backed by militias and the Russian Aerospace Forces, fully liberated Palmyra, which was under control of Daesh jihadists since May 2015.
In early April, the first group of Russian sappers set up a field camp near Palmyra to defuse explosives in the city and its suburbs that have been severely damaged by Daesh.
