Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has urged the United States to lift sanctions and alluded to the possibility of future military support from Russia and Türkiye.
Over a 45-minute interview with The New York Times, al-Sharaa made a plea to Washington to lift sanctions, saying it would be logical now that the old government is out.
“The sanctions were implemented as a response to crimes committed by the previous regime against the people,” he said.
Last month, American officials listed eight demands for lifting sanctions, according to two officials with knowledge of the issue. They include destroying any remaining chemical weapons stores and cooperating on counterterrorism efforts.
Al-Sharaa said that some American conditions “need to be discussed or modified” and declined to elaborate further.
He also told The New York Times that his government is negotiating deals with both Türkiye, a longtime political backer, and Russia, a stalwart supporter of Bashar al-Assad when he was in power. He alluded to the possibility of future military support from both.
“Türkiye has a military presence in Syria and Russia also has a military presence. We’ve nullified past agreements between Syria and other countries, and are in the process of developing new ones,” he said. Al-Sharaa appeared open to procuring additional weapons from Russia and other countries.
He also suggested his government would consider giving Syrian citizenship to foreign fighters who have lived in the country for years, are in some cases married to Syrian citizens and “who have stuck beside the revolution.”
Al-Sharaa has sought to assuage concerns, pledging to prevent Syrian land from being used to threaten any foreign country.
“Syria has been committed from the beginning, before we reached Damascus, to preventing its land from being used in any way that can threaten any foreign country,” he said.
