DOHA, December 16. /TASS/. The new Syrian government wants to "gain a voice" in the UN Security Council, said Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of the armed groups that seized power in the country.

"We want to gain a voice in the Security Council," the leader, also known under his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, told Asharq television.

Al-Sharaa didn’t say exactly what role the new Syrian government sees for itself in the UNSC. According to the leader, some UN resolutions pertaining to Syria require a revision.

Al-Sharaa commented on the talks on Syria, which were held in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on December 14 with the participation of foreign ministers from Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as the US Secretary of State and the top EU diplomat. He said the meeting had its "upside and downside" and lamented that Syria was not represented.

Syria’s armed opposition units started a major offensive on government troops in the Aleppo and Idlib governorates on November 27. By the evening of December 7, they seized several large cities, including Aleppo, Hama, Daraa and Homs. On December 8, they entered Damascus while government troops withdrew from the city. Bashar Assad resigned as president and left the country.

Mohammed al-Bashir announced on December 10 that he will lead a transitional cabinet in Syria until March 2025. He had previously headed the opposition’s Salvation Government in Idlib since January 2024.