TrumPutin
© Getty ImagesPresidents Putin and Trump
The liberation of Syrian territories from terrorists with the help of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian army is a continuation of the negotiations between the presidents of Russia and the US, which took place previously in Helsinki, said Yury Shvytkin, deputy chairman of the Duma Defense Committee, (lower house of the Russian parliament).

Earlier, Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoi, the Russian Aerospace Forces Chief of Staff, said Damascus, with support from the Russian Aerospace Force, had control over the territories of As-Suwayda, Daraa and Quneitra provinces. In addition, on Thursday, UN peacekeepers, accompanied by Russian military police, conducted the first patrol in six years in the region that separates Syria and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Shvytkin said;
"This is the continuation of the high-level conversation that took place between Trump and Vladimir Putin in that sense ... This was made possible by the efforts, first of all, by the grouping of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation in Syria and, of course, together with the Syrian Arab Army. This was made possible by professional and competent actions as well as an understanding of the emerging situation. And, of course, the liberation of these territories made it possible subsequently to propose that UN peacekeeping forces carry out actions appropriate."
He also noted that an important component of any action in the territory of Syria is the prevention of a humanitarian catastrophe among the local population. Therefore, Russia always calls on all countries, including the US and the entire coalition, to participate in peacekeeping operations.

The first large-scale negotiations between Trump and Putin took place on July 16 in Helsinki. After, Putin announced that Russia and the US could take the lead in resolving the crisis in Syria by organizing cooperation for the return of refugees to their homeland.

According to Putin, a large number of Syrian refugees are now concentrated in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. According to him, if refugees receive help to return home, the migratory pressure on the countries of the European Union will decrease significantly.

Paul Antonopoulos is a Research Fellow at the Center for Syncretic Studies. He has an MA in International Relations and is interested in Great Power Rivalry as well as the International Relations and Political Economy of the Middle East and Latin America.