The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa (Abu Muhammad al-Julani), has announced that the country is already exhausted from the war. He emphasized that Syria is not a threat to the neighboring countries and the West. Shaara gave an interview to the BBC in Damascus, calling on the countries to cancel the sanctions against Syria. "Now, after everything that happened, the sanctions should be lifted, because they were directed against the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated the same," he said.
Shaara, along with his Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, led the armed opposition that overthrew the government in Syria within days and established a transitional government, forcing President Bashar al-Assad to flee the country. He noted that HTS should be removed from the lists of terrorist organizations, in which it was included by a number of countries and organizations, including the USA, Great Britain, EU, Russia, and the UN. The leader of the opposition that came to power in Syria also denied reports that he wants to turn Syria into Afghanistan. Shaara noted that the two countries are very different and have different traditions. He emphasized that he believes in women's right to education.
"We have had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," said Shaara, referring to the northwestern province of Syria, which has been under rebel control since 2011. "I think the share of women in universities is more than 60%." And to the question whether alcohol consumption will be allowed, Shaara said: "There are many things that I just don't have the right to talk about because they are legal issues," he added, adding that a commission of "Syrian legal experts will be created to write a constitution.
"They will decide. And any leader or president will follow the law," he said. The BBC notes that Shaara was calm during the interview, wearing civilian clothes and trying to reassure those who believe the rebel group has not yet abandoned its extremist past. According to the media, many Syrians do not believe him. Representatives of several foreign countries have already had contacts with the transitional government of Syria.
