Syria's new leader invites former Vice President Farouk Al Sharaa to National Dialogue Conference

Ahmad Al Sharaa, the leader of Syria's new administration, met with former Vice President Farouk Al Sharaa, who had been sidelined during the later years of ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule. 

According to a relative of the former official, Ahmad Al Sharaa extended an invitation to Farouk Al Sharaa to participate in an upcoming national dialogue conference.  

Marwan Al Sharaa, a cousin of Farouk, told AFP, "From the early days of Ahmad Al Sharaa's arrival in Damascus, he visited Farouk at his residence in the suburbs and invited him to the conference." 

He added that Farouk warmly accepted the invitation, marking a symbolic return to the public eye after his last appearance at the 2011 National Dialogue Conference held at the Sahara Hotel in Damascus.  

Farouk Al Sharaa, 86, played a pivotal role in shaping Syria's foreign policy for over two decades. He served as Foreign Minister from 1984 under President Hafez al-Assad and continued after Bashar al-Assad assumed power in 2000. He was later appointed Vice President in 2006.  

During the 2011 conference, held months after the start of anti-Assad protests, Farouk Al Sharaa called for a political resolution to the conflict. 

However, he subsequently disappeared from the political scene and was reportedly placed under house arrest. His relative revealed that Al Sharaa's driver and personal aide were imprisoned on charges of facilitating a potential defection, and he was forbidden from leaving Damascus.  

Now preparing to release a book detailing Syria's governance under Bashar al-Assad since 2000, Farouk Al Sharaa is set to re-enter public life at the upcoming dialogue conference.  

Farouk Al Sharaa's stance on the conflict diverged from Assad's militaristic approach. In a 2012 interview with Al-Akhbar newspaper, he criticized Assad's focus on military victory, stating that neither the opposition nor the regime could achieve a definitive military resolution. He advocated for a "historic settlement" involving regional and international stakeholders.  

His name was frequently floated as a possible successor to Assad in the event of an agreement on a transitional period to exit the crisis. Al Sharaa called for a "historic settlement" that includes regional countries and members of the U.N. Security Council.

Al Sharaa was removed from the regional leadership of the ruling Baath Party in July 2013.