Syrian President Ahmad al-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 U.S. sanctions.
In an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Sunday, President al-Sharaa said Syria’s strategic location and economic potential had been undermined by decades of isolation under the deposed regime, adding that the country’s new leadership is seeking to restore its regional and international role.
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.
He said 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.
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.
He said Syria intends to preserve the aspects of its historical relationship with Moscow that serve Syria’s interests while redefining the relationship and correcting its course.
The president also pointed to shared interests with Western countries, including trade, investment, security cooperation and the presence of large Syrian refugee communities across Europe, especially in Germany.
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.”
He said Hezbollah had fought alongside the deposed regime in its war against the Syrian people for 14 years, but stressed that Syria has no intention of intervening militarily in Lebanon.
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.
If such an 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.
He also reaffirmed Syria’s support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the framework of the Arab position.
