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Syria’s de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa caused some controversy on Friday after declining to shake hands with Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock amid continued concern over the conservative policies being introduced by Syria’s interim authorities.

Baerbock and her French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot visited Syria in a sign of support for the transitional government, where they expressed willingness to help the war-torn country after Bashar al-Assad’s regime was toppled last month, making them the first European officials to do so.

But upon arriving to the presidential palace in Damascus, Al-Sharaa extended his hand out to Barrot, but not to Baerbock, .

Some strict interpretations of Islam forbid any physical contact between people of opposite genders if they are not married or closely related.

Barrot had initially placed his hand on his chest too, but then extended his hand out when Al-Sharaa did so.

The incident was met with backlash by people online who say they are worried the rebel-turned-rulers are trying to enforce an Islamic identity on Syria’s new political and educational systems, while others defended Al-Sharaa and said he was free to choose whether to shake awoman’s hand, arguing it was not disrespectful.

Baerbock has also commented, saying she expected this to happen.

"As I travelled here, it was clear to me that there would obviously be no ordinary handshakes," Baerbock told broadcasters Friday evening, as cited by German newspaper, Bild.

"But it was also clear…that not only I, but also the French foreign minister did not share this view. And accordingly, the French foreign minister did not extend his hands," she added.

Al-Sharaa heads Hayat Tahrir al-ShamÌý(HTS), a hardline Islamist group which was formerly Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, although it severed all links with it in 2017.

They had set up a de-facto government in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, before launching their lighting offensive which reached Damascus on 8 December and effectively ended the Assad family’s 53-year rule.

The Islamists' rise to power has sparked fears over minority and women's rights in the country, despite the HTS repeatedly vowing to respect the rights and freedoms of all Syrians regardless of gender and religion.

Al-Sharaa’s said last week that it may take four years before elections can happen in Syria, raising concern about whether the country has a democratic future.

, French Minister Barrot said he and Baerbock had received "assurances from the new Syrian authorities that there will be broad participation — particularly by women — in the political transition."

Baerbock and Barrot reportedly told Syria’s de-facto rulers that women’s rights represent a basic indicator of social freedoms, adding: "Women's rights are not just a separate issue, but rather a reflection of the level of freedom in any society."

Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011 when Assad’s forces violently repressed pro-democracy protests, sparking a bloody civil war that has seen the intervention of regional and global powers as well as foreign militant groups and extremists.

No official count is available, but it is believed the war has killed somewhere between 500,000 and a million people and forced around 6 million Syrians out of the country, with around 6 million internally displaced.

Al-Sharaa is seeking global recognition as he faces the arduous challenge of reuniting the deeply fractured nation, bringing all militias under government control, and rebuilding a battered economy and infrastructure, expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars.