Syrian president says Assad's overthrow was 'necessary' for entire region

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Sunday that the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime was necessary not only for Syria but for the entire region.

In an interview with Qatar's Al Jazeera TV, cited by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Sharaa described Syria as “the central pivot of the region” and said he had long expected the country to undergo fundamental change.

He stressed that he was certain that the Assad regime would fall because of the many crimes it committed against the Syrian people. “Removing the former regime was necessary not only for Syria but for the region as a whole.”

Sharaa said the opposition had focused on the military campaign against the former regime while simultaneously preparing for the post-war reconstruction phase.

On Dec. 8, 2024, Syrian revolutionaries led by Sharaa toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who had ruled the country since 2000.

Sharaa stressed that military action was only one tool of a broader strategy and could not, by itself, achieve change in Syria.

“Military action is one of the tools of our work, but it is not everything,” he said.

“Given the reality in Syria, military action alone was never enough. It was one tool among many. You also need a media narrative, public support, effective governance, and a large team trained to build institutions and develop the economy while creating conditions for sustainable development.”

He added that unity was a fundamental principle throughout the campaign, saying: “Division is weakness, and unity is strength.”

The Syrian president said he learned from previous setbacks and began organizing efforts to overthrow the regime from within Damascus, adding that defeats and limited resources had provided valuable lessons.

He stressed that he received no external support, saying he instead built a balanced local economy in the northwestern province of Idlib, which later served as the launching point for the campaign that ended Assad's rule.

“I gave equal importance to war, reconstruction and the economy, even though we were operating in a besieged area under tremendous pressure,” he said, referring to Idlib.

Sharaa said his team worked to present “the true image of governance in Idlib and other opposition-held areas through the media and visiting delegations.”

“We surpassed the former regime even in living standards in Idlib,” he said. “We trained ourselves in institution-building and public administration. We had a Shura Council, universities, media institutions, built a large industrial city, residential neighborhoods, shopping malls, roads, and other infrastructure.”

He also spoke about his personal life and political journey, from his education to the capture of Damascus, saying his family's roots in the occupied Golan Heights shaped his identity.

Sharaa said he was influenced by Arab nationalist discourse centered on the causes of Arab peoples, while noting common ground with Islamic thought.

“We distinguish between Islam and the various Islamic experiences that incorporate human ideas and interpretations,” he said.

He added that the environment in which he grew up rejected the “former regime” because of its policies and treatment of citizens.

Concluding the interview, Sharaa said: “I believe humanity began here in Syria, and when we stand before Damascus, we stand before the cradle of human civilization.”