DAMASCUS: Syria’s President Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Monday said the new transitional government would aim for consensus in rebuilding the war-torn country however acknowledged it would be unable to satisfy everyone.
The 23-member transitional cabinet—formed without a prime minister—was announced on Saturday, more than three months after Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), led an offensive that ousted longtime president Bashar Al-Assad.
Sharaa said the new government’s goal was rebuilding the country but warned that “will not be able to satisfy everyone.”
“Any steps we take will not reach consensus — this is normal — but we must reach a consensus” as much as possible, he told a gathering at the presidential palace broadcast on Syrian television after prayers for the Eid al-Fitr.
Authorities are trying to reunite and rebuild the country and its institutions after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Sharaa said the ministers were chosen for their competence and expertise, “without particular ideological or political orientations.”
Amid international calls for an inclusive transition, the new government has four ministers from minority groups in Syria — a Christian, a Druze, a Kurd and an Alawite, none of whom were handed key portfolios.
Sharaa said the new government’s make-up took into consideration “the diversity of Syrian society” while rejecting a quota system for religious or ethnic minorities, instead opting for “participation.”
“A new history is being written for Syria… we are all writing it,” he told the gathering.
Earlier this month, Syria issued a constitutional declaration, designed to serve as the foundation for the interim period led by Al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the beginning of “a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice … and suffering with mercy”.
Sharaa has previously vowed to prosecute those behind the “bloodshed of civilians” and set up a fact-finding committee.
