Syrian de facto leader Shara: "The Syrian Sham Liberation Armed Forces" will be disbanded

Syria's de facto ruler Ahmed Sharaa said on Thursday during an interview with Saudi-owned Al Arabiya that Syria will most likely need up to three years in order to draft a new constitution, and up to four years to hold "free and fair" elections, making him the first Syrian leader since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad's regime to give some sort of timeline as to when the elections may take place.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, which was broadcast on January 29, Ahmed Sharaa said, in part, that, "we cannot hold elections without first having a new constitution, and this will take up to three years to accomplish, so most likely it will be up to four years for people to vote and pick their new government. It will be free and fair."

He also said that, "Syrian people need up to one year to see change, and it shall happen, but we can only deliver so much so fast. Our country has been destroyed by an 8 year long war. It needs time and support in order to rebuild. We shall deliver."

Sharaa is the Emir (Ruler) of Al Nusra (Formerly known as Al Qaeda in Iraq and Syria, but later renamed), a group known for its brutal methods. His group lead the offensive to overthrow Assad, and now control most of the Syrian government. As part of his plan for national reconciliation, he said that, "Al Nusra (or the HTS) will be formally dissolved and be renamed and its soldiers be incorporated into the Syrian Army, and this will be the first item on our agenda when we convene the National Conference later this February."

Al Arabiya reported that Syria's new head of state went on to say, "Our first priority will of course be dealing with our neighbors (specifically Israel) and the Americans. We have common interests, and we must work out the best course for us, especially with the coming presidency of Donald Trump".

He continued: "We are aware of the bounty the (former) United States government had placed on our leader. We believe the American people, through their president-elect, are now aware that we only wish to be left to sort our own business with our own people, and that this decision by Trump shows America's best face, and we hope that a new partnership may grow between ourselves and the Americans".

According to the Arabic news source, Syria's new head of state stated that his regime has, "no intentions of harming the Russians in any way, and we have asked them to stay. There presence in Syria serves common interests".