In a landmark interview with Fox News, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke candidly about his historic visit to the White House on Monday, his evolving relationship with the United States, and Syria’s future role in the region.

“This is the first time a Syrian president visits the White House since the establishment of Syria in the 40s of the last century,” al-Sharaa noted in the interview, which followed his meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office. “After the fall of the former regime, Syria has entered into a new era. And this will build on a new strategy with the United States.”

When asked whether Syria would join the coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organization, al-Sharaa responded, “We participated in so many battles against ISIS for 10 years… I have lost much of my forces in the battles against ISIS. The US presence in Syria must now be coordinated with the Syrian government.”

Pressed on his past designation as a foreign terrorist affiliated with Al-Qaeda, al-Sharaa deflected, “We talked about the future, the present and the past. We talked about lifting the sanctions… There was a decision at the United Nations to lift the sanctions on myself and other people.”

He added, “We did not discuss [Al-Qaeda] actively. We talked about investment opportunities… Syria is no longer looked at as a security threat. It is now looked at as a geopolitical ally… especially extracting gas.”

On the possibility of Syria joining the Abraham Accords, al-Sharaa was cautious and said, “Syria has borders with Israel, and Israel occupies the Golan Heights since 1967. We are not going to enter into a negotiation directly right now. Maybe the United States administration, with President Trump, will help us reach this kind of negotiation.”

Regarding former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, who was ousted by rebels led by al-Sharaa last year, the Syrian President stated, “Justice must prevail… We have established a justice commission… so that everyone can be held accountable for what they did, including Bashar Al-Assad.”

Al-Sharaa also addressed the case of missing American journalist Austin Tice and said, “I have met with the mother of Tice… I’m going to do everything in my power so that she can have important and enough information about her son.”