Trump issues ominous warning to Putin as Syria descends into chaos: ‘The world is waiting’

Donald Trump has urged Vladimir Putin to secure a ceasefire with Ukraine after Syrian rebels toppled their longtime leader – a major Kremlin ally.

Trump voiced his views via Truth Social after Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, fled amid a dramatic coup following more than 13 years of civil war in the country. 

The Islamist rebels also dealt a major blow to the influence of Russia and Iran in Syria in the heart of the region – allies who propped up Assad during critical periods in the conflict. 

Trump tied the seismic moment in the Middle East to Putin’s war in Ukraine, saying the Russian president had ‘lost all interest in Syria’ after funneling resources into the eastern European conflict instead.   

‘Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer,’ Trump wrote at 2am on Sunday. 

‘There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever.’

Trump, 78, added that Russia and Iran were now in a ‘weakened state’ because of the war in Ukraine and ‘a bad economy’ – while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ‘would like to make a deal and stop the madness’. 

‘They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians,’ Trump wrote, referring to Ukraine. ‘There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. 

Trump tied the seismic moment in the Middle East to Putin’s war in Ukraine, saying the Russian president had ‘lost all interest in Syria’ after funneling resources into the eastern European conflict instead.  (Pictured: Vladimir Putin at a press conference on December 6, 2024)

Pictured: Members of the Syrian community wave Syrian flags on December 8, 2024 in Berlin, Germany, and celebrate the end of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s rule after rebel fighters took control of the Syrian capital Damascus overnight

‘Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. 

‘I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!’ 

It comes after Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Sunday, forcing Assad to flee and ending his family’s decades of rule in the war-torn country.    

Assad left Syria after negotiations with rebel groups, and he was given ‘instructions’ to ‘transfer power peacefully’, Russia’s foreign ministry has said.

Moscow had not directly participated in these talks, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

It also said it had been following the ‘dramatic events’ in Syria ‘with extreme concern’.

The collapse of the Syrian government, falling to a lightning rebel offensive that seized control of the capital Damascus, sent crowds into the streets on Sunday to celebrate the end of the Assad family’s 50 years of iron rule.

Syrian state television aired a video statement early on Sunday by a group of men saying Assad had been overthrown and all detainees in jails had been set free.

The man who read the statement said the opposition group known as Operations Room to Conquer Damascus had called on all opposition fighters and citizens to preserve state institutions of ‘the free Syrian state’.

Trump voiced his views via Truth Social after Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, fled amid a dramatic coup following more than 13 years of civil war in the country

Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow the government of Bashar al-Assad (pictured) to fight armed opposition groups 

Pictured: Lebanese and Syrian people shout slogans as they celebrate the rebel take over of Damascus, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday December 8, 2024

The statement emerged hours after the head of a Syrian opposition war monitor said Assad had left the country for an undisclosed location, fleeing ahead of insurgents who said they had entered Damascus following a remarkably swift advance across the country.

Many of the capital’s residents were in disbelief at the speed at which Mr Assad lost his hold after nearly 14 years of civil war.

As daylight broke over Damascus, crowds gathered to pray in the city’s mosques and to celebrate in the squares, chanting ‘God is great’. People also chanted anti-Assad slogans and honked car horns.

Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Assad’s government to fight armed opposition groups and reclaim control over most of the country.

While Russia now concentrates the bulk of its military resources in Ukraine, it has maintained a military foothold in Syria and keeps troops at its bases there.

It said on Sunday that Russian troops stationed in Syria had been put on high alert and that as of early afternoon on Sunday, there was ‘no serious threat’ to the security of Russia’s military bases there.