The Syrian President during the transitional period confirms his innocence of the events of September and talks about the elections and Israel

(CNN) - The Syrian President in the transitional period, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, confirmed that he had nothing to do with the September 11 attacks, noting that he was 13 years old at the time. He also indicated that he “would not be ascetic” by running for the presidential elections if the situation in Syria required his continuation.

Al-Sharaa said in a dialogue session with the Atlantic Council in New York moderated by the former US special presidential envoy to the international coalition to combat ISIS, Brett McGurk: “I had nothing to do with the events of September 11. I was 13 years old at the time and did not know anything about these matters.”

The Syrian President continued: "I feel sorry, of course, for all the victims who fell in America or in the Middle East because of the policies that were followed there and led to the fall of many victims."

Al-Sharaa added: “Therefore, we certainly have nothing to do with what happened in New York in that event.”

October 7th and negotiations with Israel

When asked by Axios journalist Barak Ravid about the October 7 attacks and the extent of his understanding of the concerns of Israeli citizens and his message to Israeli public opinion, Al-Sharaa said: “I understand what happened on October 7 and what happened to some innocent people, but at the same time not all policies should be based on a historical event.”

The Syrian President continued in the transitional phase: “At the same time, we must understand what happened in Gaza as well, as more than 74 thousand people were killed there, and many children, women, and so on.”

Al-Sharaa added: “For October 7 to determine Israel’s policies with Syria is a 100% wrong path because exaggerating fears sometimes brings risks. If you want to maintain your security, you must respect the security of others in the first place.” He pointed out that Israel must change its policies because it “creates crises in order to protect its security, and this does not work,” according to him.

Al-Sharaa believed that "Israeli policies at this time do not bring security to the Israeli citizen because they provoke crises and wars and always keep Israeli society in the circle of danger," and continued: "The region should be safe and everyone should feel safe so that the Israeli citizen can live in safety."

Presidential elections

Regarding running for the presidential elections, Al-Sharaa said: “I had not thought about running before. We still have three years. I think we have dedicated ourselves to serving the people over the past 20 years, and we did not have the presidency in mind as much as we had in mind serving the people, their economic development, and removing injustice from them.”

He added: "If this mission is achieved through our continuation, I will not be ascetic in this matter. Yes, I will be among the people who will run for the presidency, and I will not mention a state of humility by saying: No, I will not run, and this will be the last day of my life, and so on... Because sometimes escaping responsibility does not remove the duty from a person. Sometimes a person must take the lead..".

Al-Sharaa continued: "If Syria is safe, then it is more appropriate for me as a person to withdraw and go and move on to another life because I am tired of this long road, but if it requires continuing, I will continue."