Assad: US under Trump may be ‘natural ally’ if it shifts course on terror

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that the US will become a "natural ally" if it stops protecting "terrorists" and starts fighting them after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, although it is too early to say whether Trump will keep his pre-election promises. In an interview with a Portuguese TV station, he said that if Trump's intention to tackle the common threat of terror is genuine, Syria will be among "the first ones" to offer military cooperation with Syria as well as Russia, Iran and many other countries that want "to defeat the terrorists". Regarding US Vice President-elect Mike Pence's comment in October that the US could deal a heavy military blow to Assad's regime to halt the humanitarian crisis in the city of Aleppo, Assad claimed that the US had appointed itself as the leader and judge of the world, asserting that Washington cannot impose its democratic values on other countries. The Syrian president also praised Russia over its aid to his regime and expressed gratitude to Iran and Hizballah, while accusing Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia of supporting "terrorists" operating in his country.