U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview with TIME, spoke about his conversation earlier this month with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas during the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in the Gaza Strip.

“He is a completely different person in private than he is publicly,” Trump said, adding that Palestinians “respect Abbas as a wise man.”

Trump noted that Abbas praised his actions in the region, telling him, “What you have done is incredible. I can’t believe you did it, but congratulations.”

Although Trump complimented Abbas, he stated that Abbas is not the person capable of leading Gaza after the war, adding that the Palestinians currently do not have a functioning leader.

“I have always found good language with him. I have always considered him a reasonable man, but he is apparently not the leader at this stage. [The Palestinians] at this moment do not have a leader, at least a visible one, and they really don’t want one because each of those leaders has been killed. It’s not the best situation,” the U.S. president said.

Trump added that Abbas “would like to participate” in the governance of Gaza post-war, but emphasized that any decisions about the future leadership of the area will be made later.

“It’s still a little early to give an opinion, but at some point I will. I know he would like [to participate],” Trump said.

The U.S. president also touched on the case of imprisoned Palestinian figure and potential future presidential candidate Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti, imprisoned in Israel since 2002, remains a symbol of resistance for many Palestinians. When asked whether Israel should release Barghouti, Trump replied, “I literally ran into this question about 15 minutes before your call… so I will make a decision.”