After the scandal in Damascus

There you go! Syrian minister shook Baerbock’s hand

Germany's Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during the meeting of foreign ministers in Riyadh.(Bild: AFP)

At the beginning of January, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) still had to accept the fact that Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa did not shake her hand when she greeted him. Fortunately, things went differently at the meeting with her Syrian counterpart in Saudi Arabia.

Baerbock and the Syrian de facto foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani met at a Syria conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Both greeted each other with a handshake (see post below).

No handshake in Damascus
The scene was remarkable in that a widely publicized scandal had occurred just over a week ago. During Baerbock's visit to the Syrian capital Damascus, de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa refused to shake her hand. At the same time, he extended his hand to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot (see post below).

Baerbock emphasized at the time that it was already "clear" to her on arrival "that there would obviously be no ordinary handshakes here". But it had also been made clear to the hosts that they disapproved of this practice.

Germany's Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during the meeting of foreign ministers in Riyadh.(Bild: AFP)

Shaking hands between a foreign man and a foreign woman is unusual among believers in Islamic societies and is even forbidden according to some legal scholars. However, there is no clear rule and no dominant religious custom.

Following the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, Syrian and international observers are closely monitoring whether the transitional government that emerged from the Islamist group HTS respects women's rights and allows them to participate in public life.