"I think that within this year the majority of militants will leave for Libya. They will flee from Aleppo and Raqqa. They would have to leave for Libya, maybe some of them will stay in Iraq," Reshetnikov said in an interview.
Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh and Nusra Front, a Syrian division of al Qaeda that has changed its name to Jabhat Fatah al Sham, which are outlawed in many countries including Russia.
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the pullout of the bulk of the Russian contingent in Syria as the anti-terrorist campaign's objectives had broadly been completed. At the same time, Russia did not abandon its obligations to provide the Syrian government with weapons and military equipment, train military specialists. Hmeymim air base and a naval facility in the port of Tartus remain operational while Russia's S-400 and Pantsir air defense systems continue to be on duty in Syria to protect Russian servicemen in the war-torn country.
