Syrian President Ahmed al-Shalah has accused Israel of exporting the crisis to other countries and “fighting a ghost” amid persistent Israeli military incursions and airstrikes in southern Syria.
Al-Sharaa spoke at the Doha Forum in Qatar on Saturday in conversation with CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour.
Syria’s interim president has renewed his call for Israel to agree to reinstate the 1974 deconfliction agreement that separated the Syrian and Israeli forces. With the fall of the Assad regime, Israeli forces invaded southern Syria a year ago and continue to occupy the strategic Mount Hermon. The summit, which overlooks Israel, Lebanon and Syria, has been in a buffer zone for the past 50 years.
Israeli officials said the Israel Defense Forces would remain indefinitely in the areas they captured a year ago.
Al-Sharaa said Syria is adamant about respecting the 1974 agreement and has no intention of accepting an alternative buffer zone. “We call on Israel to return to the pre-December 8 (2024) line,” he said, adding that the United States was also participating in negotiations.
Attempts to revise the agreement “will lead us into a serious and dangerous situation,” he said.
“If the Syrian army does not come there, who will protect this buffer zone, this demilitarized zone?” he asked.
Since the revolution a year ago, “Syria has suffered a massive violation of its airspace, and we have been the victim of more than 1,000 airstrikes and more than 400 invasions,” al-Sharah said.
At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli military raid in southern Syria late last month.
Al-Shara rebels entered the Syrian capital last December, forcing then-President Bashar al-Assad to flee.
Al-Shara reiterated that the government will hold accountable those involved in the abuses when hundreds of minority Alawites were killed in Syria’s coastal region earlier this year. Many Alawites supported the Assad regime.
Despite the atrocities committed at that time, Syria is a country ruled by law, and strengthening the rule of law is the way to guarantee the rights of all minorities, he said.
Regarding elections, Al-Sharah said the current term is for another four years, until a constitution is drafted and institutions are established. An election would be held at that point, he said. Indirect parliamentary elections held in October were marred by concerns over the representation of women and minorities. Only a small portion of the population could vote.
Al-Sharaa also told the forum that he met with members of the U.S. Congress during a recent trip to Washington to call for the repeal of the Caesar Act, which continues to enforce some sanctions on Syria but was recently waived for an additional 180 days.
“There’s been great understanding. I think we’re at the 95% mark,” he said.
He said the economic situation in Syria was stabilizing and there were first signs of economic growth.
“There’s been a lot of understanding and we believe we’re 95 percent of the way there,” he said.
He said the economic situation in Syria was stabilizing and there were first signs of economic growth.
There is significant investment in Syria, mainly through loans from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with increasing participation from foreign energy and construction companies.
“People used to receive one and a half hours of electricity per day, but now it has reached 12 to 14 hours per day, and we hope that this year we will be able to become self-sufficient in electricity,” Al-Sharah said.
