WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Sunday on the news out of Syria, calling the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime a “historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria.”
Speaking from the Roosevelt Room, Biden said he was briefed by his national security team and said Syria has the full support of the United States.
“At long last, the Assad regime has fallen,” Biden said. “This regime brutalized, tortured, and killed literally hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians.”
“This is a moment of considerable risk and uncertainty,” he added. “But I also believe this is the best opportunity in generations for Syrians to forge their own future free of opposition.”
Biden also said the United States is “mindful” of the security of Americans in Syria, including American freelance journalist and Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice, who was kidnapped while reporting in Syria in 2012.
Following his remarks, Biden was asked about Tice and if reports of him being alive are true.
“We believe he’s alive. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet,” Biden replied.
President-elect Donald Trump called the situation in Syria a “mess” and urged the United States against supporting or getting involved in the conflict.
“In any event, Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” Trump wrote in a post on X.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said on Saturday the United States “has nothing to do with this offensive, which is led by Hay’at Tahir al-Sham (HTS), a designated terrorist organization”.
Russia confirmed on Sunday that Assad fled the country and relinquished the presidency.
“As a result of negotiations between Bashar Assad and a number of participants in the armed conflict on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, he decided to leave the presidential post and left the country, giving instructions to transfer power peacefully,” according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.
