Story highlights Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad says he's confident of relationship with Trump

He says he hopes the President-elect will act upon tough terror talk

(CNN) Donald Trump will become a "natural ally" of Syria if he holds fast to a hard line on terrorists.

That's the view of President of Syria Bashar al-Assad, who believes the victorious emergence of Trump could help transform relations between the two nations.

Assad wants Trump to tackle terror in the Middle East but remains cautious of his chances of acting upon his campaign promises.

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"Trump's statements were clear during his campaign in relation to fighting terrorism, nonintervention against states in order to depose governments, as the United States has been doing for decades," Assad said, according to the official translation of the interview released by Syria's state news agency, SANA.

"This is good, but this depends on Trump's will to carry on with this approach, and his ability to do that.

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