Syria's newly appointed interim President Ahmed al Sharaa has said he will form an inclusive transitional government representing diverse communities that will build institutions and run the country until it can hold free and fair elections.

Sharaa addressed the nation in his first speech since being appointed president for the transitional period on Wednesday by armed anti-regime groups that ousted former Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad in a lightning offensive in December last year.

Sharaa in his speech said he would form a small legislative body to fill the parliamentary void until new elections were held, after the previous Syrian parliament was dissolved on Wednesday.

He said he would also in the coming days announce the formation of a committee that would prepare to hold a national dialogue conference that would be a platform for Syrians to discuss the future political programme of the nation.

That would be followed by a "constitutional declaration," he said, in an apparent reference to the process of drafting a new Syrian constitution.

Sharaa has previously said the process of drafting a new constitution and holding elections may take up to four years.

The new leader also said that maintaining the "civil peace" preserving his country's territorial integrity under "a single authority" would be among his priorities.

He vowed to "pursue the criminals who shed Syrian blood and committed massacres and crimes", whether in Syria or abroad, and to establish "real transitional justice."

Qatar Emir in Damascus

His address came after his meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in capital Damascus, where the Qatari Emir reaffirmed Doha’s commitment to supporting the Syrian people in their pursuit of unity, justice, and freedom.

It comes a day after Syria declared victory of "the great Syrian revolution" that began in 2011 against Assad regime and announced the new National Day will be celebrated on December 8 every year instead of April 17.

Syria's new government also announced the suspension of the 2012 constitution, dissolution the People's Assembly formed by the Assad regime, and rebuilding of new Syrian military.

Civil war broke out in Syria after Assad suppressed peaceful anti-government protests in 2011. The conflict has killed more than 500,000 people and displaced millions more.

Assad, Syria's ruler for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on December 8, 2024, ending the Baath regime, which had been in power since 1963.