Trump: Turkey holds the key to Syria's future

(Patria) - US President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday that Turkey will "hold the key" to what happens in Syria, where Ankara-backed rebels toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Reuters reported.

In his first comments on how he views the role of the NATO ally in post-conflict Syria, Trump praised what he described as a "major military force" that he said "has not been worn down by war."

By backing the rebels, "Turkey took over in a hostile way without many lives lost," Trump said at a press conference at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

"I think Turkey will hold the key to Syria," Trump said.

Turkey, which controls parts of northern Syria after several cross-border incursions against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has been a main backer of opposition groups aiming to topple Assad, who was supported by Iran and Russia, since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

Since Assad's overthrow, Washington and Ankara have held talks on curbing any resurgence of Islamic State militants in Syria. Washington has kept about 900 troops in eastern Syria as a safeguard against militants.

Asked what he will do with those troops, Trump was vague, pointing instead to the strength of the Turkish military and highlighting his relationship with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"Erdogan is someone I got along with great... He built a very strong, powerful army."

Seemingly alluding to Turkey's Ottoman past, which included control over present-day Syria, Trump added: "They wanted it for thousands of years, and he got it, and those people who went in are under the control of Turkey, and that's okay."