Asaad al-Shaibani (Foreign Minister of the post-Assad Syria) — in conversation with Fareed Zakaria at the Council on Foreign Relations, 25 Sep 2025: "Syria is now free, without Assad regime," opening "a new page... of peace and of cooperation with the region, with the world"; the state alone should bear arms ("only the army"); and the new government "would not impose Sharia on anyone."

Syria is now free, without Assad regime. The Syrian people now is rebuilding his country without any—without any authoritarian regime. Of course, now we are also open a new page with all the world—a page of peace and of cooperation with the region, with the world.

We do not want the arms to be available to the population at large. We want it to be available to the army, and only the army.

We would not impose Sharia on anyone.

[Source is English (Council on Foreign Relations verbatim transcript). NOTE: al-Shaibani opened in English (the first passage is his own English wording — the non-native phrasing "rebuilding his country" is preserved verbatim) but then said "I will speak in Arabic," so the second and third passages are the CFR transcript's English interpretation of his Arabic answers.] Declared positions of Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani — Foreign Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic under the post-Assad government led by President Ahmad al-Sharaa (HTS-rooted), from his conversation with Fareed Zakaria at the Council on Foreign Relations on 25 September 2025. He casts the new Syria as "free, without Assad regime," rebuilding "without any authoritarian regime," and opening "a new page with all the world — a page of peace and of cooperation with the region, with the world" (a sharp realignment from the Assad era's anti-Western, Iran-aligned "axis of resistance" posture). On state-building he insists weapons must belong to the state — "available to the army, and only the army" (the basis for absorbing the revolutionary factions and the SDF into a national army). On religion and governance he says the government "would not impose Sharia on anyone," stressing pluralism (a Muslim majority alongside Christians and others, all "the Syrian people"). Separately, at Chatham House (13 November 2025) he framed the foreign-policy goal as restoring trust after Assad made Syria an "exporter of threats," called Israel "a negative actor right now" while expressing a wish to reach an agreement with it, and described the approach to Russia as "pragmatic." [Axes: west-alignment (pro-engagement / reintegration — a major shift), regional-stance (reset with the Gulf/region, away from the Iran axis), regime-stance (state monopoly on arms, anti-authoritarian transition), religion-state (no imposed Sharia / pluralism).]