Holding elections in Syria can take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya in an interview on Sunday.
Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, al-Sharaa said in excerpts from the interview with the broadcaster. He also said it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes.
Al-Sharaa also hoped the Trump administration will lift the sanctions on Syria.
The Biden administration said earlier this month that it has decided not to pursue a $10 million reward it had offered for al-Sharaa, whose group, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), led fighters that ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The announcement followed a meeting in Damascus between al-Sharaa and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, who led the first US diplomatic delegation into Syria since Assad’s ouster on Dec. 8.
HTS remains designated a foreign terrorist organization, and Leaf would not say if sanctions stemming from that designation would be eased.
Al- Sharaa also told Al Arabiya that Syria has strategic interests with Russia. Russia has military bases in Syria, was a close Assad ally during the long civil war and has granted Assad asylum.
Al-Sharaa said earlier this month that Syria's relations with Russia should serve common interests.
