Trump says ‘very smart’ Erdoğan behind fall of Assad

US President-elect Donald Trump has said that Turkey was the main power behind the fall of the Baath regime in Syria, praising President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as “very smart.”

“Turkey’s the one behind it. He a very smart guy, they’ve wanted it for thousands of years, and he got it,” Trump claimed during a press conference yesterday.

The groups that ousted Bashar al-Assad were controlled by Turkey, Trump also claimed, adding, “And that’s okay, that’s another way to fight.”

While Turkey officially backs some groups that joined the offensive to topple the regime, under the umbrella of the Syrian National Army (SNA), Turkish officials have denied that Ankara took part in the planinng of the offensive.

“Turkey is a major force, by the way, and Erdoğan is somebody I got along with great, but he has a major military force. And his has not been worn out with war,” Trump further said. “He’s built a very strong, powerful army.”

When asked about possible future developments, the president-elect said, “Nobody knows what the final outcome is gonna be in the region. Nobody knows who will rule in the final. I believe it is Turkey. Turkey is very smart, he is a very smart guy and he’s very tough. Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost.”

Armed groups led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive from their stronghold of Idlib province on Nov 27, taking over major cities from the Baath regime in days. The groups entered Damascus on Dec 8, ending the regime of al-Assad, who fled to Moscow.

The Turkey-backed SNA and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led group that Turkey considers a “terrorist organization” have also engaged in clashes during this period. On Dec 6, the SNA seized the Manbij city from the SDF, which  controls Syria’s east and north.

The US support for the SDF has long been a point of tension in Ankara-Washington relations.

(VK)