Syria's leader has said he hopes US President-elect Donald Trump will be an ally in fighting terrorism but remains "cautious in judging him.”
Syria conflict: Assad hopes for 'anti-terror ally' in Trump
STEPANAKERT, NOVEMBER 16, ARTSAKHPRESS: Bashar al-Assad said Mr Trump would be a "natural ally" if he fulfilled a campaign pledge to fight terrorism, the BBC reports.
But he said it was "dubious" whether Mr Trump could "live up to his promises".
Mr Trump had previously said it was "madness" to oppose both Syrian forces and IS militants, and that fighting Syria could lead to fighting Russia.
Conflict continues to rage in Syria. Government aircraft on Tuesday bombed besieged rebel-held eastern districts of the city of Aleppo for the first time in three weeks, activists said.
More than 300,000 people have died since the Syrian civil conflict began in March 2011.
Speaking to Portugal's RTP state television, Mr Assad said: "We cannot tell anything about what he's going to do, but if... he is going to fight the terrorists, of course we are going to be [an] ally, natural ally in that regard with the Russians, with the Iranians, with many other countries."
Mr Assad said that Mr Trump's pledge to focus the fight on Islamic State (IS) militants was "promising", but added: "Can he deliver?"
"What about the countervailing forces within the administration, the mainstream media that were against him? How can he deal with it? That's why for us it's still dubious... That's why we are very cautious in judging him."
Current US policy is to strike against IS and other jihadists while supporting moderate rebels opposed to President Assad.
Mr Assad regards those groups as terrorists.
Some US media, including the New York Times, have suggested Mr Trump is likely to end aid for the rebels fighting Mr Assad because "we have no idea who these people are".
He has said fighting Syria could lead to fighting Russia and during the election campaign he had shown admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Monday, fellow Republican John McCain lashed out at Mr Trump's planned attempt to reset ties with Russia, saying the price would be the "butchery of the Syrian people".
In his interview, Mr Assad again condemned the current US policy, saying: "They think that they are the police of the world. They think they are the judge of the world. They're not."
He also called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "sick person" and a "megalomaniac... out of touch with reality".
Turkey has carried out operations in Syria to back rebels opposing Mr Assad.
