US should 'not get involved' in Syria conflict: Trump

President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday the US should not be involved in the conflict in Syria, where opposition forces are threatening the regime of Bashar al Assad.

"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 said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump said because Russia, an Assad ally, is tied up fighting a war with Ukraine it "seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years".

If Russia were forced out of Syria, it "may actually be the best thing that can happen to them" because "there was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia," Trump said.

During his presidency's first term in 2019, Trump had initiated the withdrawal of American troops from Syria — a move that analysts said significantly altered the dynamics of the region.

But Trump had defended the decision as a step toward ending America's "endless wars", arguing that US involvement in conflicts like Syria was unnecessary after the defeat of Daesh.