US President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States should avoid getting involved in the ongoing conflict in Syria, where rebel forces are challenging the president’s government. Bashar al-Assad.
In a post on his platform Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Syria is a mess, but it is not our friend, and the United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our fight. Let it go. Don’t get involved!”
Trump noted that Russia, Assad’s main ally, is preoccupied with its war in Ukraine, which has limited its ability to counter rebel advances in Syria. He added that if Russia is forced out of Syria, that “may actually be the best thing that could happen to them,” suggesting that Russia’s involvement in Syria has yielded little benefit.
Trump’s comments came as Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied groups announced on Saturday that they had begun encircling the capital Damascus, which is controlled by government forces.
The HTS-led offensive, launched on November 27, is one of the most significant challenges to President Bashar al-Assad’s authority after a period of relative inactivity in Syria’s civil war, which began in 2011 during a crackdown on democratic opposition.
Lebanon said it was closing all of its land borders with Syria except the one linking Beirut to Damascus. Jordan has also closed its border crossing with Syria due to the security situation on the Syrian side.
Meanwhile, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, a longtime ally of Assad, has deployed 2,000 fighters to the area near Syria’s border with Lebanon, news agency AFP reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pressed for the need to prevent Syria falling into the hands of “terrorist” rebels. Speaking at an event in Qatar, Lavrov said, “It is unacceptable to allow a terrorist group to occupy land in violation of existing agreements, starting with UN Security Council Resolution 2254,” referring to the 2015 resolution advocated by the political party. solution and preservation of Syria’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity.