Joint trip to Syria
Refused handshake for Baerbock – France’s Foreign Minister takes a stand
In Syria, ruler al-Sharaa refused to shake hands with Federal Foreign Minister Baerbock. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot was there – and is now taking a stand.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot commented on the Islamist Syrian ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa’s refusal to shake hands with Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). Barrot told the French radio station RTL on Sunday that he would have been in favor if al-Sharaa had shaken hands with Baerbock.
“Would I have preferred it if Ahmed al-Sharaa had shaken my German colleague’s hand? The answer is yes. Was that the purpose of this trip? The answer is no,” Barrot said.
Other issues are crucial, such as how to deal with tens of thousands of IS supporters who are imprisoned in prisons in northeastern Syria, as well as the chemical weapons arsenal of the overthrown government of former ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Jean-Noël Barrot on a trip to Syria
Al-Sharaa welcomed Baerbock and Barrot to the presidential palace in Damascus on Friday. The Federal Foreign Minister put the fact that al-Sharaa, as a woman, did not shake her hand when greeting her, put it into perspective. When asked by a journalist during her visit, Baerbock replied that it was clear to her when she arrived “that there obviously won’t be any ordinary handshakes here.”
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© Emin Sansar / Picture Alliance
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However, Barrot and she discussed the issue of women’s rights in detail with al-Sharaa. “Women’s rights are the yardstick for a society,” said Baerbock. She and Barrot “said this clearly to those responsible here in Damascus.”
Annalena Baerbock unrecognizable in photos?
The broadcaster NTV reported on Sunday that online media associated with al-Sharaa’s Islamist militia Hajat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had unrecognizable Baerbock in photos of the meeting with the HTS leader. The minister and two interpreters can only be seen blurred in several photos on the HTS-affiliated Almharar news channel.
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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.
