The Syrian jihadist leader promises Israel that he will not enter into conflict and reaches out to Russia and Iran

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“We must move from a revolutionary mentality to a state mentality,” he says.

MADRID Dec. 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Syrian jihadist leader Abu Mohamed al Golani assured this Saturday that he does not pursue the conflict with Israel and has offered Russia and Iran, strategic allies of the deposed regime of former Syrian president Bashar al Assad, to consider opening relations with the new Syrian authorities that heads.

“Our objectives are clear and our plans are ready to build and develop Syria,” Al Golani said in a statement in which he regretted that the country’s capital, Damascus, “is lagging behind in all aspects” of what His Hayat Tahrir al Sham organization gained control of its stronghold in Idlib province, where it remained blocked until the beginning of the lightning offensive that ended Al Assad’s government last week.

The jihadist leader, who has since presented himself as a conciliator and has installed the group’s top political official in Idlib, Mohamed al Bashir, as the country’s prime minister, has assured that his group “does not harbor any hostility towards Iranian society.” and has offered Russia “the opportunity to reconsider its relationship with the Syrian people,” he said in an interview with Syria TV, published this Saturday.

Regarding Israel, Al Golani has repudiated the Israeli incursion into the Golan Heights and its bombings around Damascus and other parts of the country, which the Government of Israel defends as a national security necessity. In contrast, Al Golani believes that “Israeli arguments have become weak and do not justify their recent transgressions, which threaten an unjustified escalation in the region.”

However, Al Golani has indicated that he has no intention of entering into any conflict with Israel, mainly because of the erosion caused by the civil war in the country. “Years of this war do not allow us to enter into new conflicts. Our priorities are reconstruction and stability, not to be dragged into new conflicts,” he indicated.

Finally, Al Golani has indicated that he is in permanent contact with Western embassies and in fact there are already talks with the United Kingdom “to reopen its representation in Damascus.”

STATE MENTALITY

Al Golani has insisted that the transition stage that is now beginning in the country requires that his group carry out an exercise to “move from the revolutionary mentality to the state mentality.”

“The country needs to establish a State based on law and institutions to guarantee sustainable stability,” added the jihadist leader.