Germany’s Baerbock addresses the controversy surrounding the Syrian handshake incident

The anticipated refusal of Syria’s de facto leader to engage in a handshake with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was acknowledged by her in light of the ongoing controversy.

Baerbock, alongside her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot, unexpectedly visited Syria on Friday, where they met with the country’s de facto leader, Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, who is more commonly known by his alias Abu Mohammad al-Julani and leads the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group.

The meeting commenced with an uncomfortable moment as al-Sharaa extended his hand to Barrot but deliberately refrained from shaking hands with Baerbock, opting instead to place his right hand over his heart. This behavior aligns with his hardline Islamist beliefs, which dictate that he does not shake hands with women. While the French foreign minister narrowly avoided al-Sharaa’s gesture, Baerbock seemed to reach out initially, only to clap her hands in the air instead.

Baerbock later remarked to German media, “It was evident to me during my travels that there would be no typical handshakes.”

She added, “However, it was also apparent that both I and the French foreign minister did not share this perspective, and thus, he did not extend his hand either.”

During their discussions with al-Sharaa, the ministers addressed the topic of women’s rights in Syria, receiving assurances from the new authorities regarding significant participation, especially by women, in the political transition, as noted by Barrot in a post on X.

In November of the previous year, militant factions led by HTS launched a sudden offensive against the regime of former President Bashar Assad, leading to a rapid collapse of the Syrian military and the subsequent fall of Assad’s government.