"The same way we won back every piece of land in Syria we will secure victory in Idlib. Our message is clear to all concerned in the matter — we will go to Idlib whether with war or with peace. But, we prefer to go the Syrians in Idlib with peace. Those who count on Americans should understand very clearly that the Syrian army will go to all Syrian territories and will establish there control and authority of the Syrian state," Mekdad said, as quoted by the newspaper al-Watan.
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Territories in the northeast of Syria are controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the United States.
Meanwhile, the Daesh* terrorist group has suffered repeated military losses to the Russia-Syria-Iran coalition and the SDF, becoming almost entirely eradicated from the country in 2017. 95 percent of the area formerly run by Daesh in Syria and Iraq has been liberated. According to a live map of the conflict, Daesh currently only contests one region in the country — Deir ez-Zor.
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*Daesh — a terror group, banned in numerous countries, including Russia