Bashar Assad told Russian news agency RT that the mainstream media, big corporations, lobbyists and even some Republicans were against Donald Trump. | Getty Syria's Assad applauds Trump's terrorism rhetoric

Syrian strongman Bashar Assad praised President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric on terrorism Wednesday and suggested his administration’s relationship with Russia could bring peace to the Middle East.

“His rhetoric during the campaign was positive regarding the terrorism, which is our priority today. Anything else is not priority, so, I wouldn't focus on anything else,” the Syrian president told Russian news agency RT in an interview published Wednesday. “The rest is American, let’s say, internal matters, I wouldn't worry about. But the question [is] whether Trump has the will or the ability to implement what he just mentioned.”


Trump has touted an America first foreign policy, calling for destroying the Islamic State but at the same advocating for pulling out of the Middle East. He has also praised Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, telling NBC during its September commander in chief forum that Putin has “been a leader far more than” President Barack Obama has been.

The president-elect also tapped oil executive Rex Tillerson as secretary of state this week. The ExxonMobil chief’s close ties to Russia and Putin, however, could sink his nomination in the Senate.

Assad told RT that the mainstream media, big corporations, lobbyists and even some Republicans were against Trump.

“They want to have more hegemony, more conflict with Russia, more interference in different countries, toppling governments, and so on,” Assad said. “He said something in the other direction. Could he sustain against all those after he started next month? That's the question.”

“If he could, I think the world will be in a different place, because the most important thing is the relation between Russia and the Unites States,” he continued. “If he goes towards that relation, most of the tension around the world will be pacified. That's very important for us in Syria, but I don't think anyone has the answer to that.”

Assad added that Trump, who has no government experience, would be hard to judge given his political inexperience. “Nobody can tell what kind of pattern is it going to be next month and after,” he said.

Assad’s comments come a day after the White House condemned the ongoing chaos in Aleppo, calling the situation “deeply troubling” and “deplorable.” The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner said Tuesday that pro-Syrian government forces had killed at least 82 civilians, warning that thousands more were at risk of being detained, tortured or killed.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that the armed opposition had almost collapsed on the front lines and civilian casualties have continued “at a brutal pace.”