Now, foreign countries are trying to steer Syria’s new de facto leaders toward an inclusive government free of sectarian reprisals and away from extreme forms of Islamism. The head of HTS and the president of Syria’s transitional government,

Syria's new Islamist leaders are undertaking a radical overhaul of the country's broken economy, including plans to fire a third of all public sector workers and privatising state-run companies dominant during half a century of Assad family rule.

Since Islamist rebels overthrew the Assad dictatorship in Syria, Egypt, with parallels in its own recent history, has watched warily.

Syria is seeking to import oil via local intermediaries after its first post-Assad import tenders garnered little interest from major oil traders due to ongoing sanctions and financial risks, several trade sources told Reuters.

Syria's new Islamist leaders are undertaking a radical overhaul of the country's broken economy, including plans to fire a third of all public sector workers and privatising state-run companies dominant during half a century of Assad family rule.

Russia is willing to help with the reconstruction of Syria as it continues to seek a deal with the country’s new leadership to retain two vital military bases, according to a senior Middle East policy adviser to the Russian government.

In Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa has been named as interim president to lead the transition. Sharaa is head of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad. On Thursday,

At the same time, Russia is courting the new regime to reopen its embassy in Damascus, while Turkey is very busy in the north trying to take advantage of the vacuum to expand its footprint. In Sudan,

President Ahmed al-Shara vowed to be inclusive, but the way crucial decisions have been made has left some Syrians wary.

Syria has demanded reparations from Russia in order to "rebuild trust" after a meeting between Damascus' new administration and a Moscow delegation, according to local news sources. Russia and Syria's meeting to discuss future relations comes as Moscow looks to retain its two military bases in the Middle Eastern country.

He had spent the day with the leaders of Syria’s myriad armed factions, trying to persuade them to disband. Over seven weeks after the fall of Damascus, the fate of these groups is still uncertain. His aides claim that all militias will be dissolved and then absorbed into a new national army.