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)
The United States has encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus is reluctant to embark on such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East and inflaming sectarian tensions, five people briefed on the matter said.
Syrian authorities have banned alcohol from restaurants and bars in Damascus, one of the clearest moves yet by the Islamist-led government towards enforcing conservative ways since Ahmed al-Sharaa toppled Bashar al-Assad 15 months ago.
As Hezbollah's war with Israel escalates and Lebanon descends deeper into crisis, one regional actor has made its position unmistakably clear: Syria under Ahmed al-Sharaa is not Bashar al-Assad's Syria, and Hezbollah should not mistake the two.
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