Syria’s new rulers name foreign minister amid push for international relations By Reuters

(Reuters) – Syria’s new rulers have appointed a foreign minister, the official Syrian News Agency (SANA) said on Saturday, as they seek to build international relations two weeks after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

The ruling General Command has appointed Asad Hassan al-Shibani as Foreign Minister, SANA reports. A source in the new administration told Reuters the move “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that will bring peace and stability.”

Details about Shibani are not known yet.

Since taking power, the de facto ruler of Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, has actively cooperated with foreign delegations, including receiving Syria’s UN ambassador and high-ranking US diplomats.

Shaara has signaled a willingness to establish diplomatic relations with international envoys, saying his main focus is on reconstruction and economic development. He has said he is not interested in getting involved in any new conflicts.

The United States, other Western powers and many Syrians were happy to see rebel groups led by Shaara’i Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) oust Assad, but it is unclear whether the Islamist group will impose strict Islamic rule or show flexibility and move toward democracy. HTS was part of al-Qaeda until Shara cut ties with it in 2016.

Syrian rebels captured Damascus on December 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decade-long rule.

Forces under the command of Shaara, better known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani, established a three-month interim government to rule the rebel enclave in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province.

Washington designated Shaara as a terrorist in 2013, saying that al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic Sharia law in Syria.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, sparked one of the biggest refugee crises in modern times and left bombed cities in ruins, and the economy crippled by global sanctions.