On December 8th, according to the Times of Israel, US President-elect Trump said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "fled his country" after losing Russia's support. "Assad left," he said on his Truth Social platform. "His protector, Russia led by Putin, Russia, Russia, has no interest in protecting him anymore." He also said: "Russia had no reason to go there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of a war in Ukraine that should never have started and could go on forever...