Syria’s de facto leader says elections could take up to four years by Reuters

Written by Hatem Maher and Menna Alaa El-Din

CAIRO (Reuters) – Syrian de facto President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in remarks broadcast on Sunday that holding elections in Syria could take up to four years, the first time he has commented on a possible timetable for elections since the ouster of Bashar al-Assad this month. month.

Al-Sharaa said in an interview with the state-owned Al Arabiya TV channel that drafting a new constitution could take up to three years. He also said it would take about a year for Syrians to see radical changes.

The comment by Al-Sharaa, who leads the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham group that ousted Assad on December 8, comes as the new government in Damascus seeks to reassure its neighbors that it has moved away from its roots in Islamic extremism.

The group’s blitz ended a 13-year civil war but left a host of questions about the future of a multi-ethnic state where foreign countries including Turkey and Russia have powerful and perhaps competing interests.

While Western powers have largely welcomed the end of the Assad family’s rule in Syria, it remains unclear whether the group will impose strict Islamic rule or show flexibility and move toward democracy.

Al-Sharaa said that Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, would be dissolved during a national dialogue conference.

When asked about dissolving the group, Al-Sharaa said: “Of course. It is not possible to run a state with the mentality of groups and militias.”

The group was previously linked to ISIS and Al Qaeda, but has since abandoned both and sought to reposition itself as a force for moderation.

It has repeatedly pledged to protect minorities who fear that the new rulers will seek to impose an Islamic government and has warned against attempts to incite sectarian conflict.

According to Al-Sharaa, the National Dialogue Conference will witness broad participation from Syrian society by voting on issues such as dissolving parliament and the constitution.

Regarding the situation in northeastern Syria, Al-Sharaa said that there are talks with all parties to resolve remaining differences, including with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces allied with the United States.

He added: “We reject Syria becoming a platform for the PKK to launch attacks against Türkiye.”

He said that weapons should be under state control only, adding that the Ministry of Defense would welcome those who are able to join the army.

Al-Sharaa said in the interview that Syria shares strategic interests with Russia, a close ally of Assad during the long civil war and which has military bases in the country, repeating conciliatory signals made by his government in the past.

Al-Sharaa said this month that Syria’s relations with Russia must serve common interests.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the status of Russian military bases will be the subject of negotiations with the new leadership in Damascus.

“It is not only about preserving our bases or strongholds, but also about the conditions for their operation, maintenance, supply, and interaction with the local side,” he added in an interview with the Russian Information Agency published on Sunday.

Al-Sharaa also expressed his hope that the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump would lift the sanctions imposed on Syria. Senior American diplomats who visited Damascus this month said that Al-Sharaa appeared to be a practical person and that Washington had decided to cancel a $10 million reward for the head of the leader of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham.

In response to a question about neighboring countries’ fears of Islamic groups, he said: “We will not work to export the revolution. We want to manage the stage with the mentality of the state, not the revolution,” stressing that they are keen to establish strategic relations with all countries in the region.