A hmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s president, spoke to The Economist on January 31st in Damascus. The conversation has been translated and lightly edited for clarity. You can read our analysis of the interview here.

Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, was declared Syria's head of state for a transitional phase and empowered to form a new legislative council, state media

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has been named president for the "transitional period", state media report, seven weeks after he led the rebel offensive that overthrew Bashar al-Assad. Rebel military commander Hassan Abdul Ghani also announced the cancellation of Syria's 2012 constitution and the dissolution of the former regime's parliament,