Syria's de facto leader says holding elections could take up to four years

Holding elections in Syria could take up to four years, Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said in remarks broadcast on Sunday, the first time he has commented on a possible electoral timetable since Bashar al-Assad was ousted this month.

Drafting a new constitution could take up to three years, Sharaa said in an interview with the Saudi state-owned broadcaster Al Arabiya. He also said it would take about a year for Syrians to see drastic changes.

The comment from Sharaa, who leads the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group that ousted Assad on Dec. 8, comes as the new government in Damascus has been seeking to reassure its neighbours that it has moved away from its roots in Islamist militancy.

The group's lightning campaign ended a 13-year civil war but has left a host of questions about the future of a multi-ethnic country where foreign states including Turkey and Russia have strong and potentially competing interests.

While Western powers largely welcomed the end of the Assad family rule in Syria, it remains unclear whether the group will impose strict Islamic rule or show flexibility and move towards democracy.

Sharaa said HTS, formerly known as the Nusra Front, would be dissolved at a national dialogue conference.

When asked about dissolving the group, Sharaa said: "Of course. A country cannot be run by the mentality of groups and militias."

The group was once affiliated with Islamic State and al-Qaeda but has since renounced both and sought to reposition itself as a force for moderation.

It has repeatedly vowed to protect minority groups, who fear the new rulers could seek to impose an Islamist government and has warned of attempts to incite sectarian strife.

According to Sharaa, the national dialogue conference would include wide participation by Syrian society with votes on issues such as dissolving the parliament and the constitution.

On the situation in north eastern Syria, Sharaa said there are talks with all parties to resolve remaining disputes including with the US-allied Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

"We reject Syria becoming a platform for the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to launch attacks against Turkey," he said.

He said arms should only be under the control of the state, adding that the ministry of defence would welcome those capable of joining the army.

In the interview, Sharaa said Syria shared strategic interests with Russia, a close Assad ally during the long civil war which has military bases in the country, reiterating conciliatory signals his government has made previously.

Sharaa said this month that Syria's relations with Russia should serve common interests.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the status of Russia's military bases would be the subject of negotiations with the new leadership in Damascus.

"It is a question not only of maintaining our bases or strongholds, but also of the conditions of their operation, maintenance and provision, and interaction with the local side," he said in an interview with Russian news agency RIA published on Sunday.

Sharaa also said he hoped the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump would lift sanctions imposed on Syria. Senior US diplomats who visited Damascus this month said Sharaa came across as pragmatic and that Washington has decided to remove a $10 million bounty on the HTS leader's head.

In response to a question about neighbouring states' concerns over Islamist groups, he said: "We will not work on exporting the revolution. We want to manage the phase with the mentality of the state and not revolution," he said, reiterating that they are keen on establishing strategic relations with all regional states.