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The leader of the Syrian armed rebel group that toppled the Assad regime in Syria after several decades of his rule said that Western countries have nothing to fear from their victory.
He said this in a comment to Sky News on Tuesday, Ukrinform reports.
"Their fears (of Western countries - ed.) are unnecessary," the TV channel quoted the words of Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, who is considered the leader of the HTS (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) organization.
"Syria will be rebuilt. The fear existed before because of the presence of the regime. The country is moving towards development and reconstruction. It is moving towards stability," continued the leader of the militants.
He briefly said that Syria had been devastated by the corruption and greed of the Assad family and praised the efforts of his fighters, who he said had gained control of the country without any outside support or interference.
At the same time, al-Jolani clearly expressed support for the Assad regime from Russia and Iran, stressing that all former "colonizers" were unable to control the country.
Now he is trying to present himself as a more moderate Islamist leader, the TV channel notes. However, his group has already been recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, the United States, Great Britain and other countries.
It will be recalled that the leader of HTS Abu Mohammad al-Jolani is a former member of the "Islamic State of Iraq" and led a group associated with "Al-Qaeda" in Syria before breaking ties with them eight years ago.
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