From: Reuters December 17, 2024
Trump says Turkey holds the key to Syria's future

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that Turkey will "hold the key" to what happens in Syria, where rebels backed by Ankara toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month.

Making his first comments on how he views the NATO ally's role in post-conflict Syria, Trump praised what he described as Turkey's "major military force" that he said "has not been worn out with war."

Turkey's unfriendly takeover:
By supporting the rebels, "Turkey did an unfriendly takeover without a lot of lives being lost," Trump told a press conference at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

"Right now, Syria has a lot of, you know, there's a lot of indefinites ... I think Turkey is going to hold the key to Syria," Trump said.