President Biden said during a Sunday afternoon press conference that the U.S. will support Syria’s neighboring nations and help bolster stability in the region after dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country amid an ongoing civil war.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen. This regime brutalized and tortured and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. A fall of the regime is a fundamental act of justice. It’s a moment of historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria to build a better future for their proud country. It’s also a moment of risk and uncertainty,” Biden said.
Biden detailed that following Assad’s departure, the U.S. will support Syria’s neighboring countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and Israel, “should any threat arise from Syria during this period of transition.” This will include senior administration officials meeting with world leaders and the president speaking directly with leaders in the neighboring nations.
Additionally, Biden said, the U.S. will help stabilize eastern Syria, protect U.S. personnel, and maintain the mission against ISIS, which will include the security of detention facilities where ISIS fighters are being held as prisoners.
The U.S. will also engage with all Syrian groups, including the process led by the United Nations, to establish a transition away from the Assad regime toward an independent sovereign Syria.
President-elect Trump, who had previously cautioned that the U.S. should not get involved in the Syrian civil war, tweeted that “Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him anymore.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in on the situation, saying that the collapse of the Assad regime was a “direct result” of Israel’s attacks on Iran and Hezbollah, and that the situation is “fraught with significant dangers.”
