WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States should avoid military involvement Syria amid an insurgent offensive that has reached the outskirts of the capital, declaring in a social media post: “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.”
Trump’s first extended commentary on the dramatic rebellion came while he was in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral. He argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad did not deserve American support to remain in power.
Assad does connected to Russia and Iranand the Biden administration, which believes that the Syrian rebels leading the offensive are aligned with terrorist organizations, has suggested that their rapid advance on Damascus shows how distracted those countries are by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts.
The Biden administration has also said it does not support the offensive and has not suggested the US military will intervene. The US has about 900 troops in opposition-held northeastern Syria, working with Syrian Kurdish allies to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State extremist group.
Syrian opposition activists and regional officials have nevertheless been watching closely for clues from both the Biden administration and the new Trump administration on how the US would deal with the rebels’ sudden advance against Assad.
Also Saturday, the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria called for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition” in Syria.
In his post, Trump said Russia is “so embroiled in Ukraine” that it “seems unable to stop this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years.” He said rebels could potentially oust Assad from power.
The newly elected president also condemned the overall US approach to the 13-year war in Syria, but spoke positively about the rout of Assad and Russian forces.
“Syria is a mess, but it is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY. DO NOT get involved!” he wrote in Saturday’s post.
An influential Syrian opposition activist in Washington, Mouaz Moustafa, interrupted a briefing for reporters to read Trump’s post and appeared to choke up. He said Trump’s declaration that the US should stay out of the fighting was the best outcome the Syrians aligned against Assad could hope for.
Rebels have freed political prisoners of the Assad government from prisons as they advance across Syria and take over cities. Moustafa promised reporters on Saturday that opposition forces would be alert to any American prisoners among them and would do their utmost to protect them.
Moustafa said that is also the case Austin Ticean American journalist who has been missing for more than a decade and is believed to be held by Assad.