The New York Times reported that the president of the Damascus government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, must rebuild a country devastated by war and impoverished by sanctions. To do so, the newspaper said, he must convince the West that he is a reliable partner, despite his history of links to al-Qaeda. He must also deal with the intertwined geopolitical tensions between Turkey to the north and Israel to the south, and he must reshape his relationship with Russia, which was an ally of Bashar al-Assad.
The newspaper noted that all of this places him in a much more complex position than when he was the leader of an armed group ruling a small part of Syria, especially amid the regional turmoil in the Middle East.
Courting Russia and Turkey
The newspaper reported that for decades, regional powers (Israel, Iran, and Turkey) and international powers (the United States and Russia) have been competing for influence in Syria, given its vital geographic location.
In this regard, Sharaa told the American newspaper that his government is currently negotiating with Turkey and Russia regarding their military presence in Syria, indicating that both may provide military support to his new government.
For Turkey, a long-standing ally of his group, a military agreement with the new Damascus government could enable it to strengthen its influence near the Israeli border, limit the power of the Kurds in the north, and curb Iran, according to the newspaper.
For Russia, which has supported al-Assad regime militarily, it has a strategic interest in maintaining its military bases inside Syria. Sharaa noted that Russia has supplied the Syrian army with weapons for decades and supported the energy infrastructure, meaning that Syria may need them in the future.
He said, “We must take these interests into account.”
In January, during negotiations with the Kremlin, the Sharaa government demanded the extradition of al-Assad, who had fled to Russia after his regime fell. Russia rejected this request the first public statement from Sharaa regarding Russia’s response.
Message to America: Lift Sanctions
Over the course of the Syrian crisis, the United States, Britain, and the European Union have imposed severe sanctions on the Assad government. UN sanctions continue to target Sharaa and his group.
Since Sharaa came to power, Europe and the United States have temporarily eased some sanctions, but he said they require a permanent lifting because they were imposed on a regime that no longer exists.
He added that these sanctions are crippling his government’s ability to revive the economy, noting that “the sanctions were imposed in response to the crimes committed by the former regime against the people.”
Last month, the United States set eight conditions for lifting the sanctions, including the destruction of chemical weapons stockpiles and cooperation in counterterrorism, according to American officials familiar with the matter. Other conditions relate to the country’s governance, representation, and rapprochement with regional powers.
Sharaa said that some of these conditions “need to be discussed or modified,” acknowledging that there are American conditions for lifting sanctions.
The Issue of Foreign Fighters
One of the sticking points in the sanctions negotiations is the fate of thousands of foreign fighters who have assisted Sharaa. Some of them have held government positions in the new government.
The West is pressuring Sharaa to remove these individuals who are seen as more extremist from the political scene as a condition for easing sanctions.
However, the newspaper noted that Sharaa must strike a balance between this demand and maintaining the fighters’ loyalty and preventing them from revolting or carrying out acts of revenge.
The newspaper considered the fate of thousands of foreign fighters in Syria, some of whom have been appointed to positions within Sharaa’s government, one of the most significant obstacles to lifting sanctions.
In this context, Sharaa hinted in an interview with the American newspaper that his government might grant Syrian citizenship to foreign fighters who have lived for many years in Syria and “stood by the revolution,” as he put it.
However, this proposal raises concerns among a number of Western countries, which fear that Syria could become a haven for extremists.
However, Al-Sharaa sought to reassure them, stating that his country would commit to preventing the use of Syrian territory to threaten any other country.
T/S
ANHA
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