Trump says US shouldn't intervene in Syria as oppn forces gain ground

Trump's first extensive comments on dramatic rebel push came while he was in Paris for reopening of Notre Dame cathedral

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria amid an insurgent offensive that has reached the suburbs of the capital, declaring in a social media post, "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT."

Trump's first extensive comments on the dramatic rebel push came while he was in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral. He argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad did not deserve US support to stay in power. Assad is allied with Russia and Iran, and the Biden administration, which considers the Syrian rebels leading the offensive to be aligned with terrorist organizations, has suggested that their fast-moving advances toward Damascus demonstrate just how distracted those countries are by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts.