Syrian President Bashar Assad said he yet to see "anything concrete" from U.S. President Donald Trump over his vow to defeat ISIS and called U.S. forces deployed in Syria "invaders" because they were there without government permission.
Assad, in an interview with Chinese TV station Phoenix, said "in theory" he still saw scope for cooperation with Trump though practically nothing had happened in this regard.
Assad said Trump's campaign pledge to prioritize the defeat of ISIS had been "a promising approach" but added: "We haven't seen anything concrete yet regarding this rhetoric."
Assad dismissed the U.S.-backed military campaign against ISIS in Syria as "only a few raids" he said had been conducted locally. "We have hopes that this administration ... is going to implement what we have heard," he added.
Asked about a deployment of U.S. forces near the northern city of Manbij, Assad said: "Any foreign troops coming to Syria without our invitation ... are invaders."
"We don't think this is going to help".
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