Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the Russian military is not involved in the Syrian armed forces’ campaign to reclaim the city of Palmyra, the Russian news agency Sputnik reported Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that Palmyra would be returned to the Syrian people at Thursday’s ceremony awarding Russian servicemen for their role in the nearly 6-month anti-terrorist campaign.

“The offensive is conducted by Syrian armed forces. What the president said was that the campaign has significantly strengthened the Syrian armed forces, which are now able to independently continue the offensive,” Peskov told reporters. (MENA)

Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad said Thursday that the remaining Russian group in Syria “continued to support ground operations conducted by our army to liberate the city of Palmyra in particular.”

Over the past year, Daesh has seized, looted and destroyed several of the world's most important archaeological and cultural sites, including the ancient Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Source : MENA