Syrian president accuses Israel of 'exporting crises' to distract from Gaza 'massacres'

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel on Saturday of "exporting crises" to other countries as a way to divert attention from the "horrifying massacres" it is committing in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Addressing the Doha Forum in the Qatari capital, Sharaa claimed that Israel was attempting to justify its actions against several Middle Eastern countries under the false pretext of "security concerns".

"Israel… tries to run away from the horrifying massacres committed in Gaza, and it does so by attempting to export crises," Sharaa said in conversation with CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour.

"Israel has become a country that is in a fight against ghosts," he said, before adding that Israel was exploiting the events of 7 October to justify an aggressive posture. 

"Since we arrived in Damascus, we sent positive messages regarding regional peace and stability… and that we are not interested in being a country that exports conflict, including to Israel," Sharaa said.

"But in return, Israel has met us with extreme violence," he added, saying that Israel had carried out more than 1,000 air strikes and 400 ground incursions since the fall of the Assad dynasty on 8 December 2024.

The interim leader also reiterated his call for Israel to withdraw from territories seized by Israel since then, and claimed that negotiations were under way with the United States for an Israeli withdrawal.

Israeli forces crossed into southern Syria as the Bashar al-Assad government fell, and continue to occupy a United Nations buffer zone - the strategic heights of Mount Hermon - which overlooks Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump issued a veiled warning to Israel, and said it should not interfere with Syria's "evolution" after it carried out a deadly raid that killed more than a dozen people.

"The United States is very satisfied with the results displayed, through hard work and determination, in the country of Syria," Trump wrote on his social media platform, TruthSocial.

"It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria's evolution into a prosperous state," he added.

'Sustainable peace'

In his conversation on Saturday, Sharaa expressed his support for the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel, adding that tampering with it "and seeking other agreements such as a demilitarised zone… could lead us to a dangerous place".

"Who will be protecting this buffer zone or this demilitarised zone if the Syrian army or Syrian forces aren't going to be there?” he asked.

Sharaa also told the forum that the Assad government had left behind deep sectarian divisions, but claimed his "administration prioritised reconciliation and forgiveness to build a sustainable peace".

The president pointed to economic recovery as a driver of stability, noting efforts to convince Washington to lift the Caesar Act sanctions, which he said were originally imposed to punish the former regime.

Despite lingering challenges, Sharaa insisted Syria was on a "positive path toward stability and economic growth".

He stressed that today, "everyone is represented in government according to competence, not sectarian quotas", describing this as a new path from which others could learn how to manage affairs after wars and crises.

He added that Syria’s reconstruction was not tied to individuals but to institutions, calling this "the greatest challenge of the transitional phase the country is going through".