Syria’s new de facto leader tries to reassure neighbours and the West
Ahmed al-Sharaa, the de facto leader of Syria and head of the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has told the BBC that the country is exhausted by war and poses no threat to neighbouring states or to the wider world.
In the interview with Jeremy Bowen, al-Sharaa argued that sanctions on Syria should be lifted and said the country needs space to recover after years of devastation. The remarks are significant because they come from the figure most closely associated with the new order emerging after the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
The BBC report frames al-Sharaa’s message as part reassurance, part political appeal. He is effectively trying to persuade outside powers that Syria’s new reality should be judged by postwar stability rather than by the armed history of the movement that now dominates Damascus. That matters for regional governments, Western capitals and aid agencies deciding how to engage.
Syria’s war has left the country shattered, and the leader’s central argument is that there is no appetite or capacity for another cycle of regional confrontation. The interview suggests al-Sharaa wants to reposition the country from an export point of insecurity to a state focused on recovery and legitimacy. He also uses the platform to push for an end to sanctions, which remain a major obstacle to reconstruction and normal economic activity.
The available excerpt does not include a detailed policy programme, a timeline for governance changes or a full account of how HTS expects to rule. It does, however, establish the core political message: Syria should not be treated as an active threat, and its future should be shaped by relief, rehabilitation and foreign recognition rather than isolation.
For neighbouring countries, especially those wary of cross-border instability, the statement is meant to calm fears. For the West, it is a bid to reshape the diplomatic conversation around pragmatic engagement. Whether either audience is persuaded will depend on developments beyond the interview itself, including security on the ground, treatment of minorities and the extent to which the new authorities can enforce order.
The BBC interview does not erase the hard questions surrounding HTS, but it shows that al-Sharaa is now seeking to define Syria’s international image in the language of exhaustion and rebuilding rather than insurgency. That alone marks an important shift in how the new leadership wants to be seen.
