The de facto leader of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has said the country is exhausted by war and is not a threat to its neighbors or to the West, denying that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan.
In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for sanctions on Syria to 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.
Sharaa led the lightning offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime less than two weeks ago. He is the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant group in the opposition alliance, and was previously known by his nom de guerre of Abu Mohammed al-Golani.
He said HTS should be de-listed as a terrorist organization. It is designated as one by the UN, US, EU and UK.
Sharaa denied that he wanted to turn Syria into a version of Afghanistan, saying the two countries were very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset.
He also told the BCC that he believed in education for women.
"We've had universities in Idlib for more than eight years," Sharaa said, referring to Syria's northwestern province that has been held by opposition fighters since 2011.
"I think the percentage of women in universities is more than 60%."
