Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Syrian President Bashar Assad on retaking the ancient city of Palmyra from Daesh terrorists. Putin stressed the importance of preserving the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

"In a telephone conversation with the Syrian president, Vladimir Putin congratulated his counterpart on retaking the city of Palmyra from terrorists and noted the importance of preserving this unique historic site for world culture," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday according to Russia Today. 

"Putin once again stressed that despite the withdrawal of the bulk of Russia's military contingent from Syria, Russia’s forces will continue to help the Syrian authorities in their anti-terrorist efforts," he added.

“Assad highly valued the help Russian air forces have provided and underlined that such successes as regaining Palmyra would have been impossible without Russia's support," Peskov said.

On Sunday, the Syrian Army retook the historic city of Palmyra from Daesh, which had occupied it since last May. Russian warplanes were providing heavy support from the air.

The Russian Air Force has made 40 flights over the area of the Syrian city of Palmyra in the last 24 hours, hitting 117 targets and killing over 80 m

Source: MENA