Macron, Tusk To Discuss EU Peace Force For Ukraine Amid Diplomatic Surge [Video]

Syria’s interim prime minister took power with the support of the rebels who ousted President Bashar al-Assad as outside powers — including Russia, Turkey, the United States, and Israel — maneuvered to protect their geopolitical interests in the war-torn Middle East nation.

In an address on recently captured state TV, Muhammad al-Bashir said he would lead Syria’s interim authority through March 1 as the new rulers, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militants, looked to solidify control after deposing Assad over the weekend.

Little-known Bashir, born in Idlib Province in 1982 and an engineering graduate, had once worked for Syria’s state gas entity and has served as head of the rebel’s so-called Salvation Government for the past year.

HTS has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. In recent years, the group severed ties with Al-Qaeda and sought to remake itself as a pragmatic alternative to the …