Trump Says US Should Not Intervene in Syria: ‘Let It Play Out’

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The president-elect urged the United States to stay out of Syria’s conflict as opposition forces threaten President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Russia.

President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States should avoid involvement in the conflict in Syria, where opposition forces are challenging President Bashar al-Assad’s rule as front lines have collapsed across the country amid battles for control of key cities.

Calling Syria a “mess” and “not our friend,” Trump said America should avoid any involvement in the conflict.

“The United States should have nothing to do with it,” he wrote in all-caps in a Dec. 7 post on Truth Social. “This is not our fight. Let it play out. Do not get involved!”

The president-elect said that opposition fighters have already reached the suburbs of the Syrian capital Damascus and are getting ready to make “a very big move toward taking out Assad.”

The collapse of Assad’s regime could spell a strategic defeat for Russia, which for years has been a significant backer of Assad’s regime and has a key naval and air base in Syria.

Trump said Russia is so tied up in Ukraine that it is incapable of offering decisive assistance to stop the advance of anti-government forces, led by terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group (HTS).

“Now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them,” Trump wrote. “There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia.”

Russia on Friday warned its citizens that they should consider leaving Syria due to the “difficult military and political situation” there as the opposition forces threatened to take control of the strategic city of Homs and push toward the capital of Damascus, the seat of Assad’s power.

The United States has about 900 troops in the opposition-held northeast of Syria, working with Syrian Kurdish allies to prevent any resurgence of the ISIS terror group.

The Biden administration has not indicated any plans for U.S. military intervention in Syria, with U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stating on Friday that U.S. policy remains for a “political solution to the conflict” in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254.

Miller’s remarks followed a Dec. 1 joint statement by the governments of the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, urging “de-escalation by all parties” to the Syrian conflict and a diplomatic settlement in line with the U.N. resolution, which outlines a framework for a nationwide ceasefire, transitional government, new constitution, elections within 18 months, and addressing the humanitarian crisis.

Forces opposed to Assad have made swift and significant advances, battling for control of Homs on Saturday and starting to encroach on Damascus. Losing Homs would be a crippling blow to Syrian government forces as the city lies along a key route connecting Damascus with Assad strongholds Latakia and Tartus on the coast.

Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said that anti-government forces were active in the Damascus suburbs of Moadamiyah, Jaramana and Darayya, on Saturday. Other opposition combatants were marching towards Harasta, another Damascus suburb, he said.

Hassan Abdul-Ghani, an HTS commander, posted on Telegram that anti-Assad forces were encircling Damascus as part of the “final stage” of their assault.

Critical Threats, a project of the American Enterprise Institute, said “Assad faces an existential threat.”

“Assad Regime forces have collapsed and Assad’s backers do not appear willing to bolster the Syrian Arab Army by rapidly deploying additional forces,” the group wrote on social media platform X.

In another post on X, Critical Threats noted that Russian forces on Saturday had not yet evacuated their naval base in Tartus.

“Russian forces may be preparing to leave Hmeimim air base & Tartus naval base in Syria as the regime continues to lose ground to opposition forces,” Critical Threats said in a post. “The Kremlin losing its footprint in Syria would undermine its strategic objectives in the Mediterranean & Africa.”

HTS, which broke away from Al-Qaeda in 2016, has spent years trying to moderate its image on the international stage. The terror group presents itself as a viable alternative to Assad’s 54-year authoritarian rule.