For years, Ahmed al -Shara has been the chief of a insurgent group, which as soon as allied with al -Qaeda, who’s preventing the authorities of President Bashar al -Assad in Syria.
After a insurgent coalition led by his group, Hayat Tahrir Al ShamMr Al-Assad eliminated in December, Mr Al Shara out of the blue discovered himself president.
He’s confronted with a dizzying array of challenges, as his nation – which Assad’s household has dominated for 5 many years – has undergone a big transition interval.
It should restore a rustic destroyed by warfare and be faunted by sanctions. He should persuade the West that he’s a dependable companion, regardless of his earlier equipment with al -Qaeda, and is oriented within the geopolitical pressure enjoying on its territory between Turkey to the north and Israel to the south. And he should create a brand new reference to Russia, which was an ally with Mr Al-Assad.
All this entails navigation in a much more advanced geopolitical scenario than he as a insurgent chief governing slightly Syrian territoryS He additionally comes at an unsure second of crash within the Center East.
Mr. Al Shara sat in an interview this month on the Presidential Palace within the capital Damascus to debate the challenges that his new authorities and his imaginative and prescient for Syria face.
Listed here are some key assumes:
The courtship of Russia and Turkey
For many years, the principle regional gamers – Israel, Iran and Turkey – and international forces such because the US and Russia have been preventing for affect in Syria. The nation occupies a key geographical intersection for the entire Center East.
Mr Al Shara mentioned his authorities is at present negotiating with Turkey and Russia due to their army presence in Syria and mentions the potential for each offering army assist to their authorities.
For Turkey, the longtime political ally of Mr Al Shara’s insurgent group, a army settlement with the brand new authorities in Syria, can assist increase its affect nearer to Israel’s border, limiting the ability of Kurdish armed teams to the north and sustaining Iran.
Russia, which offered army assist for the upkeep of the Assad authorities, has a strategic curiosity in preserving the army bases working on Syrian soil.
Mr Al Shara famous that Russia has been offering weapons to the Syrian army for many years and technical assist for the Syria energy crops, which means that Syria might have Russia sooner or later.
“We have now to take these pursuits in thoughts,” he advised the advantages of Syria.
In January, as a part of negotiations with the Kremlin, the federal government of Mr Al Shara requested Mr Al-Assad, who fled to Russia when his regime collapsed, to be handed over. The Kremlin denied this request, mentioned Mr Al Shara, his first public recognition of the Russian response.
Enchantment to america: Get rid of your sanctions
A key message from Mr Al Shara is aimed toward america: elevate your sanctions in opposition to Syria.
Throughout the virtually 14-year civil warfare in Syria, america, the UK and the European Union, they imposed tough sanctions on the Assad authorities. Mr Al Shara and the insurgent group he runs are nonetheless topic to sanctions imposed by the United Nations. And the US nonetheless defines the group as a terrorist group.
As Mr Al Shara has seized energy, Europe and america have quickly alleviated some sanctions on Syria. However Mr Al Shara will want far more reduction if he needs to revive the nation’s destroyed financial system.
Within the interview, Mr Al Shara mentioned the sanctions ought to be completely eliminated as they had been imposed on the Assad regime, which is now not in energy. These penalties transferred his authorities, he mentioned his capacity to launch the financial system.
“The sanctions had been fulfilled in response to crimes dedicated by the earlier regime in opposition to individuals,” he mentioned.
Final month, US workers listed eight calls for for elevating sanctions, together with the destruction of Chemical weapons and cooperation of efforts to fight terrorism, based on two workers with data on the topic.
Mr Al Shara mentioned a number of the American situations “should be mentioned or modified” however refused to go in additional element.
Overseas fighters could also be an issue
One level in persevering with negotiations on sanctions is the destiny of the hundreds of international fighters who helped Mr Al Shara to overthrow the Assad regime. A few of them are appointed to positions within the new authorities, headed by rebels.
Western officers demanded that Mr Al Shara take away these fighters-who have a tendency to carry extra excessive views of the Syrian president group from authorities positions as a situation for poorly wanted sanctions.
However Mr. Al Shara should stability this request with the necessity to appease the fighters so as to not take a weapon in opposition to his rule or to commit vengeance all through the nation.
Within the interview, Mr Al Shara prompt that his authorities would take into account giving Syrian citizenship to international fighters who had lived within the nation for a few years and “who’ve remained till the revolution.”
This proposal may result in fears amongst Western international locations that Syria is turning into a haven for extremists, consultants say. Mr Al Shara tried to reassure these considerations, promising to stop the usage of Syrian land for risk to any international nation.
