President-elect Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the United States should avoid military involvement in Syria amid an insurgent offensive reaching the suburbs of the capital, declaring, "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT."
Trump's comments came while he was in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral. He argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad did not deserve U.S. support to remain in power.
Assad is allied with Russia and Iran, and the Biden administration considers the Syrian rebels leading the offensive to be aligned with terrorist organizations. The administration has suggested their advances toward Damascus show how distracted those countries are by other conflicts.
The Biden administration has stated it is not backing the offensive and has not indicated U.S. military intervention. The U.S. maintains about 900 troops in northeast Syria, working with Kurdish allies against any resurgence of ISIS.
"Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!" Trump wrote.
An influential Syrian opposition activist in Washington, Mouaz Moustafa, interrupted a briefing to reporters to read Trump's post and appeared emotional. He said Trump's declaration for non-involvement was favorable for Syrians opposing Assad.
Rebels have been freeing political detainees from prisons as they advance across Syria, taking cities. Moustafa pledged to reporters that opposition forces would protect any U.S. detainees found among them.