Syrian rebels
Syrian rebelsReuters/Emin Sansar / Anadolu

Hassan Akskal, a political historian and academic in Turkey, was stunned to find out where one of his students had disappeared to.

"I've just learned that my doctoral student, Asad Al-Shayebani, has become the new Foreign Minister of Syria," he tweeted.

He further noted: "I asked his Indonesian and Palestinian classmates why he hadn't attended classes for two weeks."

With a touch of humor, he added: "I hope he won't give me an excuse for not attending classes and then fail the final exam!"

"Jokes aside, I wish him, his children, and his country long-lasting peace and tranquility," Akskal concluded.

Last week, Syria's ousted president Bashar Al-Assad made his first statement since his rule fell to the rebels.

"At no point did I consider resigning or seeking asylum, and such an offer was never made. The only course of action was to continue fighting against the terrorist offensive," Assad claimed.

"I only left when the terrorist forces reached Damascus. It wasn't planned. I then moved to a Russian-controlled base in Latakia to oversee the battles, but due to the situation and drone attacks on the base, Moscow urgently requested my evacuation to Russia," he recounted.

He stressed that "the person who refused from the very first day of the war to trade his nation's salvation for personal gain, or compromise his people in exchange for numerous offers and temptations, is the same person who stood alongside the army's soldiers on the front line. He is the same person who, during the darkest years of the war, stayed with his family and his people."