German Foreign Minister Says “Handshake-Gate” in Syria Was No Surprise

Baerbock and Barrot Become First EU Ministers to Visit Post-Assad Syria

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot have become the first EU officials to travel to Syria following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The regime was toppled in early December after an Islamist rebel offensive reshaped the country’s leadership.

Upon their arrival in Damascus, the two ministers were greeted by Ahmed Hussein al-Shar’a, the country’s new de facto leader. However, tensions arose when al-Shar’a shook Barrot’s hand but ignored Baerbock’s, a moment captured on video. In the footage, Barrot appears to begin extending his hand but halts when the Syrian leader bypasses Baerbock. Al-Shar’a then proceeded to guide both ministers forward without offering Baerbock a handshake.

Al-Shar’a, also operating under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, heads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group now in power. HTS, a former affiliate of al-Qaida, has been designated a terrorist organization by both the United States and the United Kingdom. The group’s rise to authority has raised significant concerns within the international community, particularly about women’s and minority rights in Syria.

Women’s and minority rights were a central focus of this diplomatic mission. The French and German foreign ministers sought clarity on this issue during their discussions with al-Shar’a. Barrot later reassured the public, stating on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the new Syrian leadership provided “assurances of broad participation — particularly for women — in the political transition.”

The incident of al-Shar’a’s apparent snub of Baerbock has drawn comparisons to the 2021 “Sofagate” controversy in Turkey. During that incident, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was denied a chair equal to that of her male counterparts during a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Von der Leyen later publicly condemned the move as sexist, expressing feelings of being “hurt” and “alone.”

The shake-up in Syrian leadership and HTS’s controversial past have left many in the international community skeptical about the future of governance in the region. For European leaders, this moment represents both hope for greater inclusivity in Syria’s next chapter and ongoing unease over the challenges ahead.