This is an extraordinary scoop because Abu Mohammad al Jolani hasn’t given an interview to a foreign news organisation since his victory over Bashar al Assad. 

And what he says is crucial to Syria’s future. 

Jolani’s message was one of reassurance. The West has nothing to fear from Syria. Past fears were justified, he is saying, because the country was ruled by the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian backers, or “colonisers” as he called them.

The outside world’s response to the message will be vital. Syria and its new revolutionary government will desperately need outside help to recover from five decades of misrule and 13 years of civil war. Jolani made it clear rebuilding is a priority.

The world has been taken by surprise by the lightning success of Jolani’s rebel force. He transformed a rag-tag rebel army into a group capable of sweeping from its stronghold in the northwest to seize Damascus and topple the Assad regime. Not since the Arab conquerors of old has the region seen anything like it.

But Jolani’s past and the group he leads worry the West. HTS is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Western countries including the UK. Its roots are with al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden’s terror group.

Israel has decided not to give Syria’s nascent post-revolutionary government the benefit of the doubt. It has been bombing what remains of Syria’s military capability round the clock, from airbases to it seems the entire Syrian navy, destroying – it says – the country’s strategic weapons before they fall into the hands of “extremists”.

But Syria is a pivotal nation in the Middle East. Its position in the heart of the region is strategically hugely important. Seeking influence here will be crucial for outside powers. 

They cannot ignore Jolani or afford to alienate him. They will be studying what he has told Sky News exclusively today very closely.