Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa laid out a strategic vision for Syria and the region in recent comments in an interview.
Speaking with Qatar’s Al Jazeera, he described Syria’s attempts to manage tensions with Israel while also dealing with Lebanon and Iraq. He also discussed internal issues, such as the Kurdish minority in Syria and how Damascus positions itself in a changing world order.
According to Syrian state media SANA, “Sharaa said Syria is pursuing a foreign policy centered on reconstruction, stability, and balanced relations with regional and international powers, while reaffirming Syria’s support for Lebanese state sovereignty, a future security arrangement with Israel that preserves Syria’s rights, and continued economic opening following the lifting of US sanctions.”
A key part of this concept is that Syria should balance relations with the major powers. Sharaa met US President Donald Trump earlier this month on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Turkey.
He has also met with Russia and European countries in the past and recently hosted the head of the UN in Syria.
Sharaa: Syria is working to reach a security arrangement with Israel
“The president said Syria’s relations with the United States have improved following his visit to the White House and Washington’s decision to lift sanctions, describing the development as the beginning of a positive new phase in bilateral ties,” SANA noted.
Sharaa also said that “Syria had also received a positive response from European countries, Russia, and China,” adding that “Damascus had successfully conveyed its new political vision to the international community.”
Russia was a backer of Bashar al-Assad. However, Russia also has a naval base in Syria and has important ties to the country going back more than 50 years.
“On Russia, President al-Sharaa said contacts began during Syria’s liberation and resulted in an agreement to limit Russia’s military presence at Hmeimim Air Base and part of the Tartous naval facility, while discussions over the future of those bases remain ongoing,” SANA noted.
Syria will work to preserve ties with Moscow while also developing warmer relations with the US. Syria has sought to remain outside the Lebanese quagmire, although it once had troops in Lebanon from 1976 to 2005.
The US has indicated it would support Syria fighting Hezbollah, but Sharaa has so far been unwilling to do so.
“President al-Sharaa said Syria supports the Lebanese state’s exclusive authority over weapons, stressing that decades of armed groups operating outside state institutions had produced ‘catastrophic consequences,’” Sharaa said.
His statement comes after Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun met Trump. Trump also met Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi this month, illustrating how the US is working closely with Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq.
SANA also noted that the Syrian leader discussed Israel.
“Regarding Israel, the president said Syria is working to reach a security arrangement by engaging multiple countries to increase diplomatic pressure on Israel aimed at reducing tensions and preventing further conflict.”
Tensions in southern Syria as IDF operates in Golan region
In recent days, there have been more tensions in southern Syria, where the IDF operates in Syrian villages near the Golan. Syrian media reports on almost daily tensions in Quneitra and Dara’a provinces.
Syrian civilians continue to be angry that they must deal with tensions with the IDF rather than have the Syrian government present in their villages.
SANA added that Sharaa said, “if such a [security] agreement is achieved and respected by Israel, he said, it could create the conditions for a second stage in a comprehensive peace without compromising Syria’s right to the occupied Golan.”
Syria wants to pursue an independent regional policy. As such, Sharaa is saying that Syria has a strategy. He will pursue investment in the country and try to balance various agendas and avoid conflicts.
He also discussed the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the mostly Kurdish force that existed in eastern Syria, into the new Syrian army. There are concerns of instability in central Syria and potential clashes between Arab tribes and Kurdish forces. Damascus wants to make sure integration goes smoothly.
SANA noted that “in northeastern Syria, the president said the government distinguishes between the Kurdish community and the Syrian Democratic Forces, noting that the government had granted broader citizenship and cultural rights to Kurds while reaching an agreement with the SDF after lengthy negotiations.”
