Syria’s Bashar al-Assad said in an interview aired that Donald Trump will be a “natural ally” if the United States president-elect fulfils his pledge to fight “terrorists”.

“We cannot tell anything about what he’s going to do, but if... he is going to fight the terrorists, of course we are going to be ally, natural ally in that regard with the Russian, with the Iranian, with many other countries,” the Syrian president told Portugal’s RTP state television on Tuesday.

OPINION: What is next for Syria in Trump’s era?

Trump will likely end military support to the Syrian opposition – a stance that he took during his campaign trail – he said during an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, claiming that “we [US] have no idea who these people are.”

“I’ve had an opposite view of many people regarding Syria,” Trump told the US based paper. “My attitude was you’re fighting Syria, Syria is fighting ISIS, and you have to get rid of ISIS. Russia is now totally aligned with Syria, and now you have Iran, which is becoming powerful, because of us, is aligned with Syria.”

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:52 - GMT 06:52