Donald Trump took a swipe at former president Obama as he warned the US should not get involved in Syria’s civil war.
The president-elect’s comments come as fighting in the middle-eastern country has ramped up in recent weeks, with rebel forces capturing multiple key cities.
The insurgents have claimed Aleppo and a string of other cities and towns across the country’s northwest and look poised to take the capital of Damascus in a bid to topple Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
But Trump warned the US should have ‘nothing to do with’ the conflict in a post on Truth Social in which he blamed Obama for ‘refusing to honor his commitment’ to help Syria during his time in office.
He suggested that the rebels’ success if because Russia, a key ally of President Assad, has been preoccupied with the war in Ukraine.
‘Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years,’ Trump wrote.
Donald Trump has said the US should not get involved in Syria ‘s rekindled civil war
‘This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in.
‘But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them.
‘There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid. In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend […] this is not our fight.’
Trump’s comments appeared to reflect his opposition to the presence of some 900 U.S. troops in Syria, mostly of them in the northeast, where they have backed a Syrian Kurd-led alliance in preventing a resurgence of Islamic State militants.
The civil war in Syria has been simmering for over a decade, but for a long time there were relatively few gains on either side.
The last time Assad was in serious trouble was 10 years ago, at the height of the country’s civil war, when his forces lost control over parts of the largest city, Aleppo, and his opponents were closing in on Damascus.
Back then, he was rescued by his chief international backer Russia and longtime regional ally Iran, which along with Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia, helped Assad’s forces retake Aleppo, tipping the war firmly in his favor.
insurgents have claimed already Aleppo and a string of other cities and towns across the country’s northwest and look poised to take the capital of Damascus
Trump suggested that the rebels’ success if because Russia , a key ally of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, has been preoccupied with the war in Ukraine
Russia is preoccupied with its war in Ukraine, and Hezbollah, which at one point sent thousands of its fighters to shore up Assad’s forces, has been weakened by a yearlong conflict with Israel.
Meanwhile Iran has seen its proxies across the region degraded by Israeli airstrikes.
Trump’s comments come ahead of his visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, where the president-elect is scheduled to appear to commemorate the reopening of the iconic church following a devastating fire in 2019.
