Ahmed al-Sharaa, formerly known as Al-Golani said Syria is exhausted by war and the rebels pose no threat to the West or any of Syria's neighbors. Al-Sharaa, who led the rebel force that took down the regime of Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive earlier this month said in an interview to the BBC that sanctions against Syria should be lifted.
"Now, after all that has happened, sanctions must be lifted because they were targeted at the old regime. The victim and the oppressor should not be treated in the same way," he said.
He also said that his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) should be taken of the list of terror organizations claiming it did not target civilians or civilian areas and were themselves the victims of Assad's cruelty.
The HTS was known as and arm of the Islamist al Qaida terror group in Syria. After announcing it was breaking with the group, al-Sharaa attempted to convince Syrians and the world that he has turned away from the Jihadist ways of al Qaida, ISIS and the Taliban, and was seeking a moderate regime that would respect all minorities in the areas under its control.
The new Syrian leader denied that he would turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan although he did concede that he was seeking a Muslim religious rule.
"We've had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," Sharaa said, referring to Syria's north-western province that has been held by rebels since 2011."I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%," he said refuting concerns that he would keep education from girls.
Muslim Friday prayers in Damascus
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He said there would be a "Syrian committee of legal experts to write a constitution. They will decide. And any ruler or president will have to follow the law".
Since toppling Assad Western leaders said they were encouraged by al-Sharaa's public statements but that he would be judged by hid deeds. Thus far, the U.S. and Britain did not change their classification of HTS as a terror organization and a bounty of 10 million dollars, announced by the U.S., remains on the leader's head.