HTS leader signals transition in Syria

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa offered a conciliatory tone in an interview, saying Western countries needed to lift sanctions as Syria prepares for a transitional period following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Sharaa - better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani - leads the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that swept Assad from power early this month, ending the family's five-decade iron-fisted rule.

Asked about whether he had his own ambitions for the Syrian presidency, Sharaa focused on the process before any elections can be held, saying a transitional council would help draw up a new constitution and create the environment that makes a vote possible.

Sharaa declined to say whether a newly drafted constitution would go to a public vote, saying it was outside his area of expertise.

He said sanctions placed on Syria during Assad's rule no longer made any sense, and urged their lifting.

Complicating matters is Sharaa's HTS group being designated a terrorist group by Western and regional powers. Sharaa said his involvement with militant groups in the region was a matter of circumstance, saying he was in prison when Al Qaeda and its affiliates became involved in Iraq's sectarian conflict, insisting his focus since has been solely on Syria.

Sharaa said the new state would seek to pursue legal channels and diplomacy with Russia to bring Assad back to Syria to face trial.

Meanwhile Syrians gathered in Damascus to celebrate the toppling of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

With a stage set up in the square, Syrians waved flags and set off fireworks as dusk fell over Damascus.

The mass celebration in Umayyad Square was called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which heads the new Syrian leadership.

In a seismic moment for the Middle East, Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war, ending his family's decades-long rule.