The foreign minister of Syria's transitional government greeted Berbok with a handshake

Foreign Minister of Syria's transitional government Asaad Hassan al-Shibani greeted German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock with a handshake at a meeting in Riyadh. This was reported by News.de on January 12.

Expanded talks on Syria are held in Riyadh at the initiative of Saudi Arabia. According to DW, at the meeting Berbock said that during the transition period, the civilian population will receive an additional €50 million in humanitarian aid.

Basic issue: Syrian opposition reported meetings with Russian Federation representatives

And while the new ATS authorities are legitimizing their activities, tensions are rising between members of different faiths in the country

Earlier, on January 4, representatives of Syria's new administration refused to shake hands with Annalena Berbock, who, along with her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot, arrived on an unannounced visit to the Arab republic. In the footage, Berbock can be seen being the first to descend the ramp of the government plane before approaching the delegation of the new Syrian administration. At the same time, both politicians from Syria put their hands over their hearts, making it clear that they were not going to shake hands with the German foreign minister.

Later, on January 6, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said he wanted representatives of the new Syrian government to shake hands with Berbok, but that was not the purpose of his trip.

The situation in Syria has escalated as a result of a major attack by armed formations in Aleppo and Idlib, which began on November 28 and led to the Syrian army's retaliation against the militants.