Syrian President Bashar al-Assad ‘ready to cooperate with Trump’

Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is “ready” to cooperate with the US’ President-elect Donald Trump, one of Mr Assad’s advisors has said.

Speaking on Thursday - two days after Mr Trump’s seismic victory in the US general election - Bouthaina Shaaban said any collaboration on Syria’s almost six-year-long civil war will depend on “whether Mr Trump’s policies meet expectations.”

The US has



tacitly supported rebels in the war both logistically and financially and has been committed to the idea that Mr Assad must be removed from power in order to bring peace to the conflict which has killed more than 400,000 people to date. 

Mr Trump has indicated that his foreign policy stance will be less interventionist than his predecessors and has stated in the past that regime change only causes more instability in the Middle East.