Interviews

Exclusive conversations with Al-Monitor.

People queue outside the main headquarters of the Central Bank of Syria to exchange US dollars at prices lower than the black market, in Damascus on December 30, 2024. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria’s central bank chief: US sanctions relief a ‘turning point’

Abdulkader Husrieh

Abdulkader Husrieh

Syrian central bank governor

Sheikha Mayes Al-Thani speaks at inaugural USQBC-SelectUSA event in Washington, DC, February 25, 2024.

Interview

Qatar’s digital future offers opportunities in AI, energy, says head of US-Qatar Business Council

Talent, not just capital, is key to sustainable growth, says Sheikha Mayes Al Thani.

Sheikha Mayes Al Thani

Sheikha Mayes Al Thani

Managing Director, US-Qatar Business Council

Ami Ayalon, a candidate for the Israeli Labor Party leadership, arrives to vote in the second and decisive round of party primaries on June 12, 2007, in Geva Carmel, northern Israel.

Interview

Ayalon: Netanyahu firing Shin Bet chief to shield inner circle from Qatar probe

Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israel’s democracy by going after the country’s gatekeepers, such as current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

Syrian Kurds

Interview

Syria's Kurds to demand federalism in tactical push for decentralization

Syrian Kurdish groups are uniting to push for federalism and constitutional guarantees of Kurdish rights in talks with Damascus, despite skepticism about interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s willingness to accept decentralization

Mohammed Ismail

Mohammed Ismail

President of the Kurdistan National Council

Adi Alexander (C), father of Edan Alexander, attends a US House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia roundtable with family members of individuals being held hostage by Hamas, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Nov. 29, 2023.

Interview

Israel's renewed Gaza strikes put last living US hostage at risk, family warns

Israeli American Edan Alexander was due to be released in the second phase of the ceasefire.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks during a briefing on US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace plan on February 11, 2020 in New York. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told the UN Security Council that the world should reject President Donald Trump's Middle East plan, which he said would limit Palestinian sovereignty in a "Swiss cheese" deal. "We reject the Israeli-American plan," which "throws into question the legitimate rights of the Palestinians," Abbas said, brandishing a large map of

Interview

In break with Netanyahu, Olmert urges Israel to recognize Syria’s Sharaa, open dialogue

Former Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert believes Israel should recognize the legitimacy of the Syrian interim administration, telling Al-Monitor in an interview that he believes that the two countries should open dialogue.

Saudi digital economy expert Deemah Al-Yahya speaks onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square, New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

Interview

As AI superpowers clash, Saudi tech diplomat pushes collaboration over competition

Deemah AlYahya

Secretary General, Digital Cooperation Organization

Yair Golan in Tel Aviv on Feb. 2, 2025.

Interview

Amid Israel's rightward shift, left struggles for relevance

In a special interview with Al-Monitor, Yair Golan, leader of center-left party the Democrats, insists that the Palestinian Authority must play a pivotal role in the future administration of Gaza.

Yair Golan

Yair Golan

Chair of the Democrats Party

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Interview

Qatar banks on Trump's help to sustain Gaza ceasefire

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari discusses the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal, the Trump administration's role in implementing it and the future of Hamas' political office in Doha.

Majed al-Ansari

Majed al-Ansari

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain delivers a speech at the first meeting of the Global School Meals Coalition, in Paris, on Oct. 18, 2023.

Interview

WFP chief McCain urges funding to alleviate Syria's hunger crisis

WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain warned of donor fatigue after nearly 14 years of civil war in Syria.

Cindy McCain

Cindy McCain

WFP Executive Director

Rateb H. Rabi

Interview

Coworking offers lifeline to Gaza's tech entrepreneurs as war disrupts jobs

The founder of Intersect Innovation Hub calls its coworking project “Palestinian tech resilience at its best.”

Rateb Rabi

Rateb Rabi

Founder of Intersect Innovation Hub

YPJ Commander in Chief Rojhelat Afrin pictured at YPJ headquarters near Al-Hasakh with YPJ spokesperson Heval Roksana and YPJ Field Commander Heval Kurdistan, Nov. 23, 204.

Interview

US-allied Syrian Kurdish woman commander: ISIS poised to carry 'fight to new level'

As Islamic State militants reportedly made advances in Syria on Thursday, the commander in chief of the Women’s Protection Units warned in an exclusive interview that the group’s plans included taking “over entire villages.”

Rojhelat Afrin

Rojhelat Afrin

Women’s Protection Units Commander in Chief

One of the two top political leaders of the Syrian Kurdish alliance and co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council Ilham Ahmed attends a press conference, in Paris, on Dec. 21, 2018.

Interview

Syrian Kurd FM Ilham Ahmed says PKK leader Ocalan's words of 'vital importance'

Ilham Ahmed, the de facto foreign minister of the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, spoke to Al-Monitor about the latest developments in the region, including Turkey's new initiative to end its conflict with the outlawed PKK.

Ilham Ahmed

Ilham Ahmed

Co-President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria

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