Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan Banks Claims Donald Trump Regarding Syria's Future

JAKARTA - Secretary of State Hakan Fidan rejected US President-elect Donald Trump's claim regarding Turkey's future after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, emphasizing the feelings of the Syrian people.

Trump said Turkey would hold the key in Syria, as rebel groups succeeded in bringing down President Assad on December 8, highlighting Ankara's support for a rebel group he called a "takeover".

"We will not call it a takeover, because it would be a grave mistake to present what has happened in Syria with that term," Foreign Minister Fidan said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

"For the Syrian people, it is not a takeover. I think if there is a takeover, it is the will of the Syrian people who take over now," he said.

Foreign Minister Fidan also warned that a culture of domination had destroyed the region, saying the most important thing was cooperation, not domination.

As previously reported, Trump said Turkey would hold the key after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, ending his five decades in power.

In his first statement on how he views Turkey's post-conflict role, Trump praised what he described as Turkey's "major military force" which he said was "not tired of war."

By supporting the rebels, "Turkey carried out an unfriendly takeover without many lives," Trump told a news conference at his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.

"Currently, Syria has a lot, you know, there is a lot of uncertainty. I think Turkey will hold the key to Syria," Trump said.

Turkey, which controls large parts of northern Syria after several cross-border attacks on Syrian Kurdish YPG militias, is a major supporter of opposition groups aimed at overthrowing President Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, since the outbreak of civil war in 2011.

Since Assad was ousted, Washington and Ankara have held talks to counter the rise of Islamic State militants in Syria. Uncle Sam's country has placed about 900 troops in eastern Syria as a defense against militants.

"They wanted it for thousands of years, and he got it, and the people who entered there were controlled by Turkey, and that was not a problem," Trump said, alluding to Turkey's past under Ottoman rule, which includes control of modern Syria.