00:00As-salamu alaykum Sayyid Raiz.
00:01Alhamdulillah.
00:02Alhamdulillah.
00:02Alhamdulillah.
00:03You were, of course, detained by U.S. forces for some five years,
00:07including, again, when I was the four-star there.
00:11And here you are now as the president of Syria,
00:15which your forces liberated from the murderous Bashar al-Assad regime
00:19to participate in your first U.N. General Assembly
00:22as the president of your country.
00:25Earlier this year, you met the president of the United States,
00:27among many other world leaders.
00:30Please help us understand how you got from al-Qaeda in Iraq 20 years ago
00:35to where you are today.
00:37First, the past has its rules when it comes down to traditions
00:42and rule and traditions and the customs of that faith.
00:46When we want to subject it, when we want to judge it,
00:53we have to judge it based on this faith.
00:56We cannot judge the past based on the rules of today
00:58and cannot judge today based on the rules of the past.
01:01Today, now, we have a new phase that's special.
01:04The region, there was an occupation of Iraq.
01:08There has been a lot of conflicts in the area.
01:10Perhaps there were some mistakes.
01:12Sometimes, in a person's journey, there are some mistakes.
01:16But what's important is to focus on defending people from the threats that they face,
01:21especially from the instability that could take place in any region.
01:25Our commitment to that line is what brought us here today to the place we're in,
01:30sitting here among allies and friends.
01:31Well, again, as a former commander of forces in two different wars, in fact,
01:39I'm fascinated by your skill in putting together a force,
01:46and I assume recruiting, training, equipping, conducting leader development courses and so forth,
01:54to build a force that could rapidly take Aleppo.
02:00And then, of course, Hama is open, Homs, and the road to Damascus is clear,
02:07and you topple a regime that had been in control of your country for 50 years.
02:11How did you do this, again, as how did you organize, train, equip this force,
02:18and then lead it to this stunning outcome?
02:21First, the balance of power does not depend on the tools or whatever you have at your disposal.
02:29There are many countries where there is a conflict and small groups that can overthrow a president or a ruler.
02:44So what a leader needs is optimism, a belief, a deep belief that you are defending a noble cause.
02:57How do you intend to achieve your vision for Syria,
03:02and what do you seek from the United States and the West to help you achieve that?
03:06There has been shared interest between Syria and the West and the United States in the current phase,
03:12and if we would like to talk, if we use the language of shared interest,
03:17there's a lot of principles that the U.S. and Syria share, and the West in general.
03:22It is very impressive, I must say, Mr. President.
03:25Russia, the Iranians, Lebanese, Hezbollah were, of course, key foreign backers of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
03:34You fought against them over the past several years.
03:39How is your relationship with them evolving now?
03:42Syria would not be a threat to any country when it comes down to the Russian presence or any other country,
03:48even in the militias that used to be present on Syrian land.
03:53And we mentioned that in many occasions, and we said that Syria will not be a threat to the region or any country.
04:00Any party that has interest that aligns with that of Syria,
04:06taking into account that the Syrian sovereignty will take priority and its stability and its security.
04:13Beyond that, we build partnerships with different countries around the world.
04:17I'm reminded of an old American expression that only President Richard Nixon,
04:22the ultimate cold warrior, could go to Communist China and establish diplomatic relations.
04:29This begs the question, of course, could President Ahmed Al-Shara someday go to Jerusalem?
04:36Is Israel trying to expand?
04:41Is it an expansion strategy or is it an fear strategy?
04:47How are you holding up under all this pressure?
04:51Are you getting time to do some thinking?
04:57Are you getting enough sleep at night?
04:59Again, I've been there, and it is so very, very hard.
05:05And you're many fans, and I am one of them.
05:09We do have worries.
05:15I am 43 years old, but I spent 25 years of which in conflict, in war, and in hardship.
05:22So I'm used to crisis, and crisis has to be managed with the strategic plans,
05:29with an open mind, and with flexibility and adaptability.
05:32What is it that gives you hope about your very challenging task?
05:36I believe that my mission in Syria is much more difficult than yours in Iraq.
05:41It's much more difficult in Syria than yours in Iraq.
05:45Of course.
05:47No, it's not.
05:48It's not that you're going to be in Iraq.
05:51And Iraq, it was limited.
05:53You know, in recent years, I was occasionally asked to assess the different groupings in Syria.
06:02And obviously, I assessed that the Islamic State and then Al-Qaeda, that they were not reconcilable.
06:09But when I was asked about the organization that you built, HTS, Hayat Tariyar al-Sham,
06:18I said, I actually believe that we could work with these individuals,
06:23that they were nationalists, certainly.
06:27Yes, a degree of political Islam.
06:28But frankly, what you have done since toppling the Bashar al-Assad regime
06:37has validated what it is that I assessed it.
06:41And I was criticized, by the way, quite considerably.
06:44I just want to tell you, really, on behalf of all the people who are here,
06:50that this conversation has truly filled me with enormous hope.
06:55It has been very, very heartening and illuminating.
06:59Your vision is powerful and clear.
07:03Your demeanor itself is very impressive as well.
07:08And so, again, on behalf of all here and all those that are watching virtually and so forth,
07:13we thank you for sharing your vision today.
07:16We wish you strength and wisdom in the difficult work ahead.
07:20We obviously hope for your success, inshallah,
07:23because at the end of the day, your success is our success.
07:28Thank you very much, Mr. President.
07:30Thank you.
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