Trump Tells Putin to Agree to Immediate Cease-Fire in Ukraine After Syria’s Assad Ousted

The president-elect issued the statement on Dec. 8 on social media.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump (R) talk during a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

President-elect Donald Trump sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria after Islamist opposition fighters captured Damascus. He called for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine.

“Assad is gone. He has fled his country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on the morning of Dec. 8. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place.”