The president said the U.S. was working with its partners to address concerns that extremist groups could capitalize on the power vacuum left by Assad’s departure to Russia.
By Michael Birnbaum, Cat Zakrzewski and Missy Ryan, The Washington PostSyrians celebrate at Omayyad Square in Aleppo, Syria, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024.
Biden said he has directed his administration to work to ensure that Syria remains as stable as possible, as many actors inside and outside the country seek to capitalize on the situation to grab power and advantage. With Israel seizing control of border areas of Syria and Turkish-backed forces skirmishing with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the country’s northeast, the situation remains deeply combustible.
Syrian families wait to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Cilvegozu border gate, near the town of Antakya, southern Turkey, Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. With a wide range of regional actors threatened by instability in Syria and seeing an opportunity to seize advantage, Biden administration officials have been reaching out extensively to countries that share borders with Syria. The country’s central location makes it a hub for many regional dynamics and rivalries.
“That is going to take an enormous effort from everybody. We think that should be the focus of those with an interest in building a better future Syria,” the senior Biden administration official said. “Additional fronts opening up, not in anybody’s interest.” “We have to be smart … and also very mindful and pragmatic about the realities on the ground,” the official said.
For more than a decade, U.S. presidents have grappled with how to contain the brutal leadership of Assad without triggering a spiraling international conflict. The fall of the Assad regime fulfills a longtime U.S. foreign policy goal, after Russia and Iran supported Assad amid the Obama administration’s efforts to oust him.
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