Biden: We will work with all Syrian groups to ensure a political transition

Outgoing US President Joe Biden said the United States will work with "all Syrian groups" within the framework of the United Nations to ensure a political transition after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

"We will work with all Syrian groups, and assess their words and actions, including the UN-led process, with the goal of establishing a transition away from the Assad regime and toward an independent, sovereign Syria with a new constitution," Biden said in a speech from the White House.

He added that the fall of the Assad regime represents a historic moment and an opportunity for the Syrian people to build peace in their country and for the Middle East region, stressing that his administration will support Syria's neighbors, including Jordan, Iraq, Israel and Lebanon.

Biden pointed out that the Assad regime had brutally killed thousands of innocent civilians and should be held accountable, stressing that it had refrained from engaging in a serious political process and continued to commit crimes against its people.

Biden said that his country "will not give ISIS a chance to build its capabilities, and will not allow Syria to become a safe haven for it. We will work to protect our forces in Syria and continue our mission against ISIS."

The lion's fall is amazing

For his part, US President-elect Donald Trump expressed his surprise on Sunday at the fall of the regime of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, saying that Assad "fleeing his country" after losing the support of his ally Russia.

Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that "Assad's fall is amazing" because he had been in much worse conditions for years and suddenly opposition forces began to seize large areas.

"Assad is gone. He fled his country. His protector, Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, no longer cares about protecting him," the US president-elect said.

In his first comment on the fighting in Syria on Saturday, Trump said Syria "is a mess, but it is not our friend, and the United States should have nothing to do with it. This is not our conflict. Let things work out. Don't get involved!"

Earlier today, the Flight Radar website, which tracks aircraft, reported that a Syrian plane suspected of carrying Bashar al-Assad left Damascus airport before the opposition entered the capital Damascus at dawn today.

The plane initially flew towards the Syrian coastal area, but then suddenly changed course and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing from the radar map.

Russian news agencies quoted a source in the Russian presidency (the Kremlin) as saying that Russia granted Assad and his family asylum for humanitarian reasons.

The Syrian armed opposition announced the fall of the Assad regime and the entry of its forces into the capital Damascus - at dawn on Sunday - as the culmination of a series of swift victories it achieved in the past few days in Aleppo, Hama, and then Homs.

Source: Agencies