(Reuters) -Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced a transitional government on Saturday, appointing 23 ministers in a broadened cabinet seen as a key milestone in the transition from decades of Assad family rule and to improving Syria's ties with the West.

The list of ministers appears to be a compromise between calls for a diverse cabinet to unite the divided country while keeping allies of the interim president, Ahmed al-Shara, in powerful roles.

The Christian opponent of the al-Assad regime had not returned to Syria during the 14 years of civil war. When offered the position of labor minister, she did not hesitate for a second.