Syria does not pose a threat to the world, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told the BBC

Syria’s de facto leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said the country was exhausted by war and posed no threat to its neighbors or the West.

In an interview with the BBC in Damascus, he called for the lifting of sanctions on Syria.

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 rebel alliance, and was previously known by his military alias Abu Mohammed al-Jolani.

He said that HTS should be removed from the list of terrorist organizations. The UN, US, EU and UK, among many others, have recognized it as one of the groups since it started as a splinter group from Al Qaeda, from which it split in 2016.

Sharaa said that HTS is not a terrorist group.

He said they did not target civilians or civilian areas. In fact, they considered themselves victims of the crimes of the Assad regime. Victims, he said, should not be treated the same as oppressors.

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

Sharaa said that the countries are very different, with different traditions. Afghanistan was a tribal society. In Syria, he said, there was a different mindset. He said he believed in education for women.

Throughout the interview, Sharaa was relaxed, dressed in civilian clothes and trying to reassure anyone who thinks his group has not broken with its extremist past.

Many Syrians do not believe him.

The actions of Syria’s new leaders in the next few months will show what kind of country they want Syria to be – and how they want to rule it.