Assad: Trump's Priority in Fighting ISIS is Encouraging

Bashar Assad, the President of Syria, states that the priority given by the new U.S. President to combat the Islamic State (ISIS) is "encouraging," but it remains to be seen what his practical actions will be. According to a report on Tuesday, February 8, by Reuters, Assad made this statement to a group of Belgian journalists. Donald Trump, the new U.S. President, has described defeating the Islamic State as one of his main objectives and has also signed an order requesting U.S. military agencies to present a plan to achieve this goal within 30 days. Mr. Trump has previously mentioned the possibility of cutting aid to anti-Assad Syrian rebels and the potential alignment with Russia and Bashar Assad in the fight against ISIS. According to reports from Reuters and the Russian news agency TASS on Tuesday, Assad commented on Trump's priority for defeating ISIS, stating, "We have been making this request for six years as well." Assad added, "I find this encouraging, but we must wait, and it is still too early to expect practical actions." The Syrian President concluded his remarks by saying that this could be related to cooperation between the United States and Russia, which he believes would also be positive for the rest of the world, and, as he said, it is still too early to judge. The Islamic State, which has declared the establishment of an "Islamic Caliphate," still controls parts of the semi-desert regions of eastern Syria and the banks of the Euphrates, with the city of Raqqa serving as its main base. The roads leading to Raqqa are currently under pressure from attacks by a U.S.-backed group known as the "Syrian Democratic Forces" and Syrian Kurdish forces. The Syrian Democratic Forces announced on February 5 that their new operations have begun with "increased support from the international coalition [led by the U.S.]." This group stated that the new operational phase is being carried out through both airstrikes and ground support from special forces of the U.S.-led coalition. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, it was reported that the city of Al-Bab, the most important area of ISIS presence and activity in Aleppo province, is under complete siege by government forces and opposing rebels. The Syrian civil war has so far left approximately four hundred thousand dead and millions displaced, with many reports of torture and execution of prisoners and opponents by warring factions. In one of the latest reports, Amnesty International stated that Bashar Assad's government has "secretly" executed about 13,000 people, "mostly civilians," since the beginning of the civil war five years ago, burying their bodies in mass graves. In this context, ISIS in Al-Bab is under "complete siege" by Assad's forces, rebels, and Turkey. Russia, Turkey, and Iran have "begun negotiations" on the details of a ceasefire in Syria.