President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday the U.S. should not be involved in the conflict in Syria, where rebel forces are threatening the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump as he arrives for a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier
President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday the U.S. should not be involved in the conflict in Syria, where rebel forces are threatening the government of President Bashar al-Assad.
"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!," Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump said because Russia, an Assad ally, is tied up fighting a war with Ukraine it "seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years."
If Russia were forced out of Syria, it "may actually be the best thing that can happen to them" because "there was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia," Trump said.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; editing by Diane Craft)
Iraq has officially reopened the Qaim border crossing with Syria for trade and passenger traffic, a spokesman for the Iraqi border authority said on Saturday, marking a key step in efforts to normalise relations and revive economic ties between the two countries.
Israeli troops entered southwestern Syria in the early hours of Thursday and arrested several people who the Israeli military said were members of Palestinian militant group Hamas but which Syria's interior ministry said were civilians.
Middle East leaders and their Western allies have been warning that Islamic State could exploit the fall of the Assad regime to stage a comeback in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, where the extremist group once imposed a reign of terror over millions.
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