Now Annalena Baerbock speaks about the handshake scandal
It was a real affront to our foreign minister: During Annalena Baerbock's surprise visit to the new rulers in Syria, Ahmed al-Scharaa refused to shake her hand. However, he shook hands with her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot.
Now Baerbock has spoken out about the scandal from Damascus. She said: "Even when I arrived, it was clear to me that there would obviously be no ordinary handshakes here."
▶︎ But: It was made just as clear to the Islamist hosts that this practice was disapproved of. Barrot did not extend his hand to shake hands either. After the Frenchman had initially placed his right hand on the heart area in greeting, he then briefly took al-Scharaa's hand.
Above all, it was made clear during the conversation that women's rights are a measure of how free a society is, said Baerbock. At the end of the conversation, a handshake no longer seemed quite so difficult.
Delegation circles said that al-Sharaa extended his hand again at the end of the conversation, but that there was no handshake.
Habeck speaks about the scandal
Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck (55, Green Party) has also already commented on the affront. He was pragmatic: "It is right and important that Annalena Baerbock was the first EU foreign minister to travel to Syria."
And continued: "With this strong sign of common European foreign policy, we are making clear our support for a Syria that has the chance to take a new path after decades of violence and injustice. That is what matters."
Habeck: "If we only met with governments that think the same way as we do, we would be pretty much alone." The Minister of Economic Affairs himself caused a stir in 2022 when he bowed to Qatar's trade minister. The Gulf state supports the Hamas terrorists.
