Assad points to Trump as likely ally
WASHINGTON — President Bashar Assad of Syria, condemned by the Obama administration and much of the West for waging a brutal war of suppression against Islamist opponents in his country, said this week that President-elect Donald Trump could be a “natural ally” in the fight against terrorism. The comment underscored the degree to which the new administration’s approach could reverse central tenets of US foreign policy.
In an interview with the Portuguese broadcaster RTP published Tuesday, Assad — whom President Obama wants removed from office — welcomed the prospect that Trump would make good on his campaign promise to focus exclusively on fighting the Islamic State and to align the United States with Russia, a close ally of Assad’s, in doing so. The Islamic State is one of an array of moderate and extremist groups seeking to topple Assad.
Assad’s statements — a remarkable shift in tone from a leader who Secretary of State John Kerry has said should be investigated for war crimes along with Russia — highlighted the complexity of the foreign policy challenges awaiting Trump and the extent to which he has signaled a break from Obama’s approach, especially in the Middle East. In Syria, Trump will inherit an especially tangled set of alliances and trade-offs, a situation that has bedeviled Obama in a region currently the site of US military action in support of efforts to contain or destroy the Islamic State.
While allowing that what he called “opposing forces within the administration” could cast doubt on whether Trump “can deliver on his promises,” Assad said that “if — if — he fights the terrorists, it is clear that we will be a natural ally, together with the Russians, Iranians, and many other countries who want to defeat the terrorists.”
Read more: http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/11/16/syrian-president-calls-trump-natural-ally-fight-against-terrorism/h3k1XqQYUA7neqqEQTDeIM/story.html
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