Sharaa, Syria’s president, spoke to The Economist on January 31st in Damascus. The conversation has been translated and lightly edited for clarity. The Economist: Maybe you could start by giving me a sense of your vision for Syria.

Syria's Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Monday it would take between four and five years to hold presidential elections, the first time he has laid out a timeline for the vote since he was named transitional president last week.

Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif hoped that Ahmed Al Sharaa taking over as president of Syria would bring progress and peace to the war-torn country. “We welcome Mr. Ahmed Al Sharaa’s assumption of office as president of the Syrian Arab Republic during the transitional phase and hope that the new leadership will be able to bring peace,