Trump's presidency blow to US regime change policy in Syria, says Analyst

With the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US president, many are waiting to see him take serious steps towards implementing his most outstanding foreign policy promise which is to form a coalition with Russia's President Putin to defeat terrorism in Syria. Trump has told The Wall Street Journal that he intends to replace the Obama administration's policy of supporting Syrian opposition groups against President Assad with a possible rapprochement with Russia to resolve the conflict.

In an interview with Press TV, Alfred Lambremont Webre, a war crimes lawyer, noted that Trump’s presidency would deal a heavy blow to the regime change policy followed by the previous US administration, especially Hillary Clinton.

“I think the recent American election has dealt a blow to the Atlanticists [who] were the originators of the irrational regime change policy and now both President-elect Donald Trump and [President] Vladimir Putin of Russia have made declarations that their foreign policies are essentially the same, especially with regard to Syria," Webre said.

He further reiterated that “we all have to hold incoming president Donald Trump's feet to the fire and really this is one of the most outspoken policies on which he was elected president and that is to join forces with Vladimir Putin. He has said that on his first date in office, he is going to call together his military commanders and ask them to bring him a plan within 30 days to bring to defeat Daesh and all of these terrorists in Syria in conjunction with Russia.” 

Webre also highlighted the United Nations’ role in providing a platform for the US and Russia to reach a unified stance regarding Syria and the fight against terrorism.

In the context of the UN following an early meeting between Trump and Putin, Webre said, it seems that they could begin to have a consensus and arrive at a joint strategy.

“I think that the United Nations is going to play a central role. We know that within the last several weeks Syria’s permanent representative to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari has specified that terrorists are taking civilians in eastern Aleppo as human shields to prevent them from leaving the city and also they are using snipers and launching shells to prevent civilians from leaving the city. The UN provides a platform for the world community really to begin to arrive at consensus.”

Since March 2011, Syria has been hit by militancy it blames on some Western states and their regional allies. Backed by Russian air cover, the Syrian military is engaged in an operation to rid the country of Daesh and other terrorist groups.

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