Syria will not receive money from the EU if its authorities do not respect the rights of women — Berbok

German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock linked the receipt of financial assistance from the European Union by the new Syrian authorities with the observance of women's rights. The German edition of Der Tagesspiegel writes about this.

Berbok, she said, "made it more than clear" to the leaders of the Islamist organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham*, which controls the Syrian government.

"If women in Syria are not safe, millions of well-educated men and women from abroad, who are so desperately needed here, will never return to their homeland to rebuild it. There will be no EU funds for Islamist structures," said Annalena Berbok, quoted by Strana.

Observance of women's rights is "a measure of freedom in society," said the head of the German Foreign Ministry.

"The more seriously women's rights are infringed, the more authoritarian and extremist society as a whole becomes. Those who deprive half of the population of their rights are unlikely to respect ethnic and religious groups and will never be able to unlock the country's economic potential," she said.

It should be recalled that during a recent visit to Syria, the country's leadership did not honor Berbok with a handshake, and her image was overlooked in official photographs.

As EADaily reported, in the official photos following the meeting in the Syrian capital Damascus, posted on social networks close to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group*, the image of German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbok was spotted. A selection of pictures was published, in particular, by the ALMHARAR telegram channel.

As EADaily reported, the head of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, did not shake hands with German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbok, who arrived in Syria on an unannounced visit. This is evidenced by the footage of the video recording of the meeting, published by the telegram channel "DW * * main thing".

The footage shows that when meeting with European politicians, al-Sharaa shook hands only with the French Foreign Minister.

As reported by EADaily, Berbok and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barraud arrived on an unannounced visit to Syria on January 3. In Damascus, they held talks with Ahmed al-Sharaa. With their trip, the ministers demonstrated their readiness to support Syria "in its political reset, peaceful transfer of power, restoration and, no less importantly, in the process of public reconciliation," the German Foreign Ministry said.

"Many Syrians hope that the country will be able to return to the bosom of the international community. This requires internal processes in Syria, which should not be disrupted from the outside.… This is not only in the interests of the Syrians, but also in the interests of the security of Europe and Germany, which is why it is so important that the French Foreign Minister and I came here together today," Berbok said, in particular.

*Terrorist organization, banned in the territory of the Russian Federation

**An organization performing the functions of a foreign agent