On Friday January 3, Jean-Noël Barrot, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Annalena Baerbock, his German counterpart, arrived in Damascus for an official visit. Their main objective: to discuss the political transition in Syria with the new leader, Ahmed al-Charaa, who took the reins of the country after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime.
The visit of the French and German ministers is the first since Ahmed al-Charaa took power. The latter now leads a coalition formed by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which overthrew Bashar al-Assad last December. The two diplomats, who emphasized the importance of a peaceful transition for Syria, began their day with a visit to Saydnaya prison before meeting the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Charaa.
The objective of the ministers was to lay the foundations for a dialogue for national reconstruction. However, this meeting is taking place in an extremely tense and uncertain context, marked by the rise in power of Islamist groups and the difficulties of a stable political transition.
Syria’s Islamist leader refuses to shake hands with woman
While Jean-Noël Barrot was greeted by Ahmed al-Charaa with a handshake, Annalena Baerbock was ignored on this point. The Syrian president refrained from shaking his hand. In Syria, according to some interpretations of Islam, it is considered inappropriate for a man to shake a woman’s hand.
The German minister made the same observation upon her arrival in the country, during which the Syrian government’s welcoming committee also refrained from shaking her hand.
A revealing gesture which did not fail to provoke reactions. Although this is a common practice in this region, it highlights underlying tensions between the Syrian government and Western diplomats.
Also read: Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on an official visit to Damascus: “France supports a plural Syria, where the rights of all are respected”
