New Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa: Syria is not a threat to the world

(Patria) - Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said the country is exhausted by war and poses no threat to its neighbours or the West. In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and was previously known by his wartime pseudonym Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

He said HTS should be removed from the list of terrorist organisations. The United Nations, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom have designated it as one, among many others, because it began as a splinter group of Al-Qaeda, from which it split in 2016.

Sharaa said HTS is not a terrorist group. They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they considered themselves victims of the crimes of Assad's regime. According to him, victims should not be treated in the same way as oppressors.

He denied wanting to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan. He said those countries are very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there is a different way of thinking. He said he believes in education for women.

Sharaa was relaxed throughout the interview, in civilian clothes, and tried to offer reassurance to all those who believe his group has not broken with its extremist past.

The actions of Syria's new rulers in the coming months will show what kind of state they want Syria to be and the way they want to govern it, the BBC reports.