Syria's new prime minister pledged to protect the rights of all religious groups under the anti-regime alliance that ousted Bashar Assad and urged millions of refugees to return home.
Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the alliance, spearheaded by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought to a spectacular end five decades of brutal rule by his family.
Syrians across the country and around the world erupted in celebration, after enduring a stifling five decades that saw anyone suspected of dissent thrown into jail or killed.
With Assad's overthrow plunging Syria into the unknown, its new rulers have sought to assure members of the country's religious minorities that they will not repress them.
"Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria," said Mohammad al-Bashir, who was appointed the transitional head of government.
Asked whether Syria's new constitution would be Islamic, he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that "we will clarify all these details during the constituent process."
Bashir, whose appointment was announced Tuesday, is tasked with heading the multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian country until March 1.
After decades of iron-fisted rule by the Assads – adherents of the minority Alawite offshoot of Shiite Islam – Syrians now face the enormous challenge of charting a new course as they emerge from nearly 14 years of war.
Roaming the opulent Damascus home of Assad, Abu Omar felt a sense of giddy defiance being in the residence of the man he said had long oppressed him.
"I am taking pictures, because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house," said the 44-year-old.
"I came for revenge. They oppressed us in incredible ways," he added.
The war has killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the population to flee their homes, with 6 million of them seeking refuge abroad.
In his interview with Corriere della Sera, which was published Wednesday, al-Bashir called on Syrians abroad to return to their homeland.
"Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has earned its pride and dignity. Come back," he said.
"We must rebuild, be reborn and we need everyone's help."
He also said that Syria's new rulers would be willing to work with anyone so long as they did not defend Assad.
"We have no problem with anyone, state, party or sect, who kept their distance from the bloodthirsty Assad regime," he said.
Assad was propped up by Russia, where he reportedly fled, as well as Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin said it wanted to see rapid stabilization in Syria, as it criticized Israel for hundreds of airstrikes it conducted on its neighbor over the past two days.
"We would like to see the situation in the country stabilized somehow as soon as possible," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Russia was continuing to discuss the fate of its military infrastructure in the country with Syria's new leadership, he added.
Iran, meanwhile, upheld its view that Assad's overthrow was a "product of a joint U.S.-Israeli plot."
Its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday that the ouster of Assad would not weaken its anti-Israel "resistance."
While Assad had faced down protests and an armed rebellion for more than a decade, it was a lightning offensive launched on Nov. 27 that ended up forcing him out of power.
The opposition forces launched their offensive from northwest Syria on the very same day that a cease-fire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war in neighboring Lebanon.
That war, which killed thousands in Lebanon, saw Israel inflict staggering losses among Hezbollah's ranks.
Assad's fall raises the question of how Hezbollah will ever recover, given that it had long relied on Syria as a conduit of weapons and supplies from Iran.
Qatar and Türkiye, on the other hand, historically backed the opposition.
Qatar on Wednesday said it would reopen its embassy in Damascus "soon," while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Türkiye on Friday to discuss developments in Syria.
