Foreign Minister in Damascus
Syria’s new ruler refuses to shake hands with Annalena Baerbock
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks with the current Syrian ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus about women’s and minority rights. This led to a scandal.
Together with her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was received by the Syrian de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa. The leader of the Islamist rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) welcomed the foreign ministers who had traveled on behalf of the EU to the former palace of long-term ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was overthrown around four weeks ago, in the capital Damascus.
Al-Sharaa received Baerbock and Barrot at the entrance to the palace at the beginning of a long red carpet. While the Islamist did not greet Baerbock with a handshake, as was usual for him when meeting women, he did extend his hand to Barrot. After the Frenchman first placed his right hand on the heart area as a greeting, he then briefly took Al-Sharaa’s hand.
Baerbock greeted without a handshake
The scene can be seen in an X-Post by ZDF journalist Andreas Kynast:
Damascus: Syria’s new ruler, the Islamist Ahmad Al-Sharaa, generally does not shake hands with women.
The greeting from Foreign Minister Baerbock and her French colleague Barrot is considered friendly by his standards. pic.twitter.com/XcMwxFMfqP
— Andreas Kynast (@andikynast) January 3, 2025
At this point, our editorial team has integrated content from Twitter / X.
Due to your privacy settings, this content has not been loaded to protect your privacy.
HTS leader Al-Sharaa had broken away from Al-Qaeda
Al-Sharaa was formerly known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The HTS group emerged from the Al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Al-Sharaa broke away from Al-Qaeda and the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). To this day, however, there are reports that the HTS leadership maintains contact with Al-Qaeda.
Baerbock had already stated at the beginning of her visit to Syria that she would continue to judge the HTS by its actions. Despite all the skepticism, we should not miss the opportunity to support the people of Syria at this important crossroads.
DPA
lw
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
