The Transitional Government of Syria edited photos of Baerbock on social media.

During the official visit of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot to Syria, internet resources and local media concealed photographs showing Minister Baerbock with other women from the European delegation. All faces were obscured.

According to the German television channel n-tv, Baerbock's visit to Damascus indicates problems in communication between the new Syrian leadership and influential foreign politicians.

It was previously reported that the leader of HTS and head of the transitional Syrian government, Ahmed al-Shara, refused to greet Baerbock with a handshake, limiting himself to a gesture. The Quran does not prohibit handshake between a man and a woman, but Muslims belonging to HTS consider this gesture as the first step to sin.

The Syrian state news agency SANA published photographs of Baerbock without any changes.