United States President-elect Donald Trump has described the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad as an “unfriendly takeover” by Turkiye, which had aligned itself with several of the opposition groups that led the lightning offensive on Damascus.
Trump made the remarks – in apparent praise of Ankara – during a wide-ranging news conference on Monday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. His comments offered a window into his foreign and domestic policy weeks before he is to re-enter the White House on January 20.
“I think Turkey is very smart… Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost. I can say that Assad was a butcher, what he did to children,” Trump said, referring to the December 8 ousting of the longtime Syrian leader.
Al-Assad’s forced departure followed a surprise offensive across the country by rebel groups, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had long opposed al-Assad’s rule and supported the Syrian National Army (SNA) opposition group, based in northwestern Syria.
Trump had previously weighed in on the conflict, saying it is “not our fight”.
During his first term, he had sought to withdraw about 900 US soldiers based in Syria in advisory roles for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed opposition group, but reneged due to pressure from allies concerned about the resurgence of ISIL (ISIS).
Trump demurred on Monday when asked if he would withdraw the US forces.
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