Sharaa on Saturday appointed a 23-member transitional cabinet without a prime minister that includes four ministers from minority communities in Syria, over three months after his Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) marched on Damascus and toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
“We certainly won’t be able to please everyone, and any steps we take won’t reach consensus,” Sharaa told a crowd at the presidential palace in Damascus after Eid al-Fitr prayers. “However, we must agree to the minimum extent possible.”
The Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) criticized Syria’s newly-formed government on Sunday as “exclusionary” and “failing” to uphold diversity, stressing that they would not abide by its decisions.
“We have seen positive and reassuring reactions to the establishment of this new government, its composition, and the selection of ministers,” Sharaa said.
“Syria is today writing a new history for itself,” he affirmed.
Following a swift offensive, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, headed by Sharaa, in early December toppled the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Sharaa was appointed as Syria’s interim president in late January, after which he vowed to form an “inclusive transitional government that would reflect Syria's diversity.”
Upon announcing the new cabinet, Sharaa stated that “at this historic moment, we mark the beginning of a new phase in our national journey” and “advance toward the future we deserve with strong will and unwavering resolve.”
