Trump has previously indicated he might cut US support for Syrian rebels fighting Assad.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said US President Donald Trump prioritizing the fight against militants led by ISIS was promising although it was too early to expect any practical steps, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.

The Kremlin, Assad’s most powerful ally, said Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed setting up “genuine coordination” in the fight against ISIS and “other terrorist groups” in Syria during a phone call last month.

Assad was quoted by SANA as telling a group of Belgian reporters that Trump’s position was promising. “I believe this is promising but we have to wait and it’s too early to expect anything practical,” he said. Assad was also quoted as saying that US-Russian cooperation in stepping up the fight against the militants would have positive repercussions.

Trump has previously indicated he might cut US support for Syrian rebels that have been fighting Assad, and that he could cooperate with Russia in the fight against ISIS in Syria.

Trump has made defeating ISIS a core goal of his presidency and signed an executive order asking the Pentagon, the joint chiefs of staff and other agencies to submit a preliminary plan on how to proceed within 30 days.

[vuukle]