In this task, you will be presented with a passage and have to answer a question based on your understanding of the events inferred from the passage. Try to find the best answer that is most likely to fill in "_". Note that the URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].

(CNN) Syrian government forces say they have retaken control of the rest of Aleppo, but there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria. Only a widely accepted political settlement can end the fighting and stitch the country back together. The recent Syrian regime offensive -- supported by Russian and Iranian-backed forces -- to capture the rest of the eastern side of the city has led to the complete fall of the besieged area. However the Syrian regime's recent victories have raised many questions about the impact of these gains on the conflict in Syria and the fate of the country.Haid: Even if Assad is able to control Syria militarily, after a long struggle, the regime will still not be able to efficiently run the countryDespite the significance of Aleppo, the fate of the city alone is not a decisive factor in the Syrian conflict 
 Question:Any other solution will only deal with symptoms and ignore the illness until it is too late for it to be treated, and turn _ into a failed state permanently.
Syrian

(CNN) -- Verizon pulled a rabbit out of its corporate hat earlier this month. The wireless giant announced a multibillion-dollar deal to purchase rights to largely unused spectrum, which is like an open lane on the congested wireless Internet highway. Verizon purchased these rights from Comcast and Time Warner, two large cable-TV companies, and the smaller Bright House Networks. Sound familiar? AT&T made a similarly surprising move in March, declaring its intention to buy T-Mobile, in large part to get access to T-Mobile's underused spectrum. The AT&T deal drew the wrath of the Justice Department and the FCC. Indeed, it appears the current incarnation of the AT&T proposed merger is dying a slow death. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle agreed on Monday to a request from both sides to delay the merger hearing, and asked AT&T to supply information on whether it will pursue a different deal with T-Mobile.Writers: Verizon, AT&T deals are attempts to get more spectrum for wireless servicesSpectrum, or bandwidth, is getting scarce because it is badly used, they maintainWashington could sell spectrum for billions of dollars, they say, still minimize monopoliesWriters: Until then, regulators should look more kindly on telecom mergers 
 Question:Unlike the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger, _'s acquisition doesn't involve taking millions of subscribers from a competitor, thereby increasing concentration in the wireless market.
Verizon

Moscow (CNN) -- President Dmitry Medvedev has signed an order dismissing longtime Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the Kremlin reported Monday on its website. The state-run RIA-Novosti news agency said Kudrin had resigned amid a dispute with Medvedev. The announcement came shortly after Medvedev had given Kudrin until the end of the day to decide whether to quit. "You need to make a decision quickly and tell me about it today," Medvedev told Kudrin during a session of the modernization commission in Dimitrovgrad. Medvedev urged that Kudrin to "make up his mind about his political future," according to the non-governmental, Moscow-based Interfax news agency.Russian Finance Minister Kudrin steps down over differences with MedvedevMedvedev has already signed the order dismissing KurdinThe economist has been credited with helping Russia weather the global downturn 
 Question:Citing differences with _, particularly related to defense spending, Kudrin said that he would not remain in a government led by Medvedev, Interfax said.

Dmitry Medvedev