Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » International

Trump praises ‘mighty’ Türkiye for Syria takeover

U.S. President Elect Donald Trump praised, what he called, ‘smart’ Tayyip Erdogan and ‘mighty’ Türkiye for Syria takeover

Tuesday December 17, 2024 7:28 PM, ummid.com News Network

[Donald Trump and Erdogan in a file image.]

Florida: U.S. President Elect Donald Trump praised, what he called, ‘smart’ Tayyip Erdogan and ‘mighty’ Türkiye for Syria takeover.

In his first reaction after Syria fell to the opposition groups led by Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Commander in-chief Abu Muhammad al Julani, aka Ahmed al Sharaa, Trump however rcalled the overthrow of Bashar al Assad and his government an “unfriendly takeover” by Ankara.

“[Türkiye] wanted [Syria] for thousands of years, and he got it… Türkiye did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost,” Trump said.

The Ottoman Empire of Turkiye ruled Syria from 1516 to 1918 before its disintegration after World War I.

He said that he considers Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “smart” and “very tough” guy for succeeding in the overthrow of the Syrian leadership.

Trump also praised Erdogan for building what he described as Türkiye’s “major military force” which “has not been worn out with war.”

"I mean, he's built a very strong, powerful army," Trump said.

Trump went on to say that "those people who went in and got it" - referring to the opposition offensive led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) - are controlled by Turkey.

"And that's okay, that's another way to fight," he added.

Assad, a butcher: Trump

Addressing a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump also called Assad a "butcher" because of what he did to children, adding that he didn't know what the outcome of Assad's collapse would be.

He however said that Türkiye will play a significant role in Syria’s future.

“Nobody knows what the final outcome is going to be in the region. Nobody knows who will rule in the final... Right now, Syria has a lot of indefinites, but I think Türkiye is going to hold the key to Syria,” he said Monday in his first press briefing since the November 2024 election victory.

Trump was commenting on the HTS led opposition takeover in Syria on December 08, 2024 which ended more than 50-year brutal rule of al Assad family.

A day after taking control of Syrian capital Damascus, the HTS led opposition formed an interim government headed by Muhammad al Bashir as Prime Minister.

In a related development, UN Special Envoy to Syria travelled to Damascus and held meeting with Abu Muhammad al Golani, aka Ahmed al Sharaa. The meeting is seen a very important move towards international recognition of the opposition led rule in Syria.

Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates.

Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.

 

....

..