French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Sunday said he would have preferred if Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa had shaken the hand of his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock on their visit to Syria last week, but insisted that this was not the point of their trip.
Barrot and Baerbock on Friday became the most senior Western figures to visit the Syrian capital since Islamist-led forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad last month.