He spoke after the last convoy of militants left Homs for the Turkish-held border city of Jarablus on Sunday, completing their withdrawal from the al-Waer district of the city.
"Syrian President Bashar Assad took the country's third largest city under control. I think it's unlikely that the Americans will rush to free Homs from Assad. This is another success of the Syrian Army backed by Russia's peacekeeping efforts to de-escalate the conflict," Buzhinsky said.
VIDEO — The entire city of Homs fully clear of weapons and militants —
— syrianfaust (@SyrianFaust) 22 мая 2017 г.
It raises the flag…….
Homs Governor:… https://t.co/YN1ab2jBdg
He expressed hope that Homs will not repeat the fate of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, which had to be liberated a second time from Daesh terrorists.
"The Syrian government troops had to drive the terrorists out of Palmyra, whereas in Homs, an agreement on the militants' withdrawal from the city was clinched. They left Homs without laying down arms and they promised to continue fighting. Still, I guess that they will not try to retake Homs," Buzhinsky said.
Another Russian military expert, Igor Korotchenko, said in turn that Homs' liberation confirms the correctness of the strategy chosen by the Syrian government forces.
Syrian city of Homs back under Assad’s control for… https://t.co/BrcFRiSBFj
— Max (@max007ab) 21 мая 2017 г.
"The Syrian Amy taking control means that the tactics of the Syrian government troops remain correct," Korotchenko said, adding that "if necessary," the army may rely on diplomatic negotiations but uses force "if necessary."
He pointed out that the liberation of Homs also confirms the trend towards a change in the situation in Syria.
"Apart from this, we see the Syrian government's efforts to maintain a peaceful dialogue both within the Astana format and the support of de-escalation zones in Syria." In general, this is an important stage, but obviously not the last one… so that life in Syria can return back to normal," Korotchenko said.
He suggested that that the US response to Homs' liberation will be calm, given that there are no groups of American special forces in the area.
"Washington may only refer to the use of force in areas where US special force groups are operating. In Syria, this mainly pertains to the border areas near Jordan, which is why the US reaction [to the liberation of Homs] will be low-key," the expert said.
On March 13, Syrian authorities and militant groups in Homs reached an agreement through Russian mediation, implying that militants and their families would leave Homs in stages with guaranteed safe passage, courtesy of Syrian government troops.
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