Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday told al-Arabiya TV that elections could take four years, noted the importance of ties with Iran and Russia, and called for the US to lift sanctions. In a wide-ranging interview three weeks after his Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied rebels ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from power after a lightning offensive,

Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa told Al Arabiya TV on Sunday that elections could take four years, noted the importance of ties with Iran and Russia, and called for the United States to lift sanctions.

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

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says elections in the country could take up to four years, citing a need to rewrite the constitution.

Holding new elections in Syria could take up to four years, rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has said in a broadcast interview. This is the first time he has given a timeline for possible elections in Syria since his group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led a rebel offensive that ousted former President Bashar al-Assad.