President-elect Donald Trump reacted to the news of the Syrian government falling, prompting its dictator Bashar Assad to flee after rebels stormed the capital city of Damascus.
“Assad is gone," Trump wrote Truth Social. "He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. 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. 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. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers and many more civilians.“
As a result, Trump called for an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, saying the Kremlin was in a “weakened state” because of the war and its “bad economy.”
“There should be an immediate ceasefire, 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’s post continued. “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”
Assad and his wife fled with their three children. However, it is not clear where they are going. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali also said he did not know where Assad was.
A group of men led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) appeared on Syrian state TV and said that Assad had been overthrown and that all of the prisoners had been released.
On Saturday, HTS and rebel forces seized control of Damascus, claiming to have toppled the regime. With ties to Islamic extremism, HTS appeared to have timed its assault, knowing that Assad's ally, Syria, was distracted by the conflict in Ukraine. At the same time, Iran and its proxy forces, including Hezbollah, had been weakened by Israeli strikes, leaving the faltering regime without support.