U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday said Russia had abandoned its longtime ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, forcing him to flee the country following the opposition's capture of Damascus. "Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Trump's comments came hours after reports confirmed that Assad had fled to an undisclosed location as anti-regime forces seized control of the capital. The fall of Damascus followed a swift rebel advance that saw opposition groups take Aleppo, a key northern city, less than a week earlier. "There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place," Trump added. "They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead in a war that should never have started and could go on forever." Trump argued that Russia's involvement in Ukraine and Iran's struggles in regional conflicts had left both nations too weakened to continue their support for Assad. "Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now—one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success," Trump said. The Kremlin has not commented on Trump's statements or Assad's whereabouts. Russia, a staunch ally of Assad throughout Syria's 14-year civil war, has provided extensive military and political support to the Syrian regime. In the same post, Trump called for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine, citing heavy losses for both sides in the ongoing conflict. "[Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians," he said. "There should be an immediate cease-fire, and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse." Trump urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take decisive action to end the war, saying, "I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act." He also suggested that China could play a role in brokering peace. "China can help. The world is waiting!" he added. Since launching its "special military operation" in February 2022, Russia has annexed four Ukrainian regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—but has faced fierce resistance and significant casualties. — Agencies
