Syria’s Assad: Must wait and see if Trump lives up to promises

On Tuesday, in his first comments on Trump’s election victory, Assad said the Republican leader had made promising comments on the need to battle Islamists in Syria’s war but “can he deliver?” 

“What about the countervailing forces within the (US) administration?” Assad told a Portuguese television channel in remarks released by Syrian state television, pointing to what he said were rival “lobbies and powers” within the administration that traditionally influence any incumbent US president. 

Trump has struck a different tone to current US policy on some aspects of the multi-sided Syrian conflict, where the United States with allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia has backed some of the insurgents who have been fighting to topple Assad for more than five years. 

Trump has questioned the wisdom of backing rebels, played down the US goal of getting Assad to leave power, and noted that while he didn’t like him, “Assad is killing ISIS” with Iran and Russia. “That’s why for us it’s still dubious whether he (Trump) can do or live up to his promises or not,” Assad said.