New assurances to the West and neighboring countries were given in a new interview by Syria’s de facto leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, who said the country was exhausted by war and posed no threat to its neighbors or the West. .

In fact, in his interview with the BBC in Damascus, al-Golani asked for the lifting of sanctions in Syria.

al-Golani led the blitzkrieg that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in less than two weeks. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the rebel alliance, and his real name is Ahmed al-Saraa.

The HTS leader said among other things that the organization should be removed from the list of terrorist organizations, which includes it by the United Nations, the US, the EU and the UK, among many others, as it started as an offshoot of al-Qaeda, from which it seceded in 2016.

al-Golani insisted that HTS was not a terrorist group. They did not target civilians or civilian areas, he said. In fact, they saw themselves as victims of the Assad regime’s crimes. Victims, he said, should not be treated the same as oppressors.

He denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.

He pointed out that the countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mentality. She said she believes in education for women.

Throughout the interview, al-Golani was relaxed, wearing civilian clothes, and sought to reassure all those who believe his group is not done with its extremist past. Many Syrians do not believe him.

The actions of Syria’s new leaders in the coming months will indicate the kind of country they want Syria to be – and the way they want to govern it.