During the visit, he expressed his appreciation for the courage, solidarity, and devotion to humanity shown by the people of Idlib during the difficult years of the Syrian revolution, which they have provided refuge to refugees from all over the country.

The fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime is reminiscent of the sudden and rapid collapse of the Taliban and the Afghan government of Ashraf Ghani. Just as the Taliban took Kabul within a week, HTS has made rapid territorial gains. These events are reminiscent of the overthrow of Najibullah's regime by mujahideen groups in Afghanistan in the 1990s.