Baerbock and Barrot are the first EU ministers to visit Syria since the ousting of Bachar Assad’s long-standing regime following an Islamist rebel offensive in early December.
As they arrived in Damascus, they were greeted by the country’s de facto leader, Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, who reached out to shake Barrot’s hand, but not Baerbock’s.
Video of the moment posted online shows Barrot apparently starting to extend his hand, but then stopping short of a handshake. Al-Shar’a then turns and leads the two ministers along.
Al-Shar’a, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, is the head of the main rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. A former affiliate of al-Qaida, the group has been listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Kingdom.
Given the group’s history, HTS’s rise to power has sparked concerns about the safeguarding of women’s and minority rights in Syria, which were the focus of this week’s visit by the top diplomats from Germany and France.
In a statement on X, France’s Barrot said they had received “assurances from the new Syrian authorities that there will be broad participation — particularly by women — in the political transition.”
The handshake incident is reminiscent of the so-called “Sofagate” controversy, in which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was denied a leader’s chair during a visit to Turkey in 2021.
Von der Leyen later said she felt “hurt” and “alone” during the incident, for which she pointedly blamed sexism.
