DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
In a rare lapse of his trademark diplomacy, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa refused to give an interview to a female TV reporter who would not shake his hand for religious reasons, press reports said on Sunday.
Manar al-Sabagh, a correspondent for the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese Al Manar TV channel, refused to reciprocate when Moussa extended his hand at the start of an interview during the Arab Summit in Damascus, Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm reported.
"I don't shake hands," Sabagh told the veteran Arab diplomat, to which he reportedly replied: "We'll neither shake hands nor talk."
The paper said Moussa refused to back down even after his aides tried to explain the religious reasons behind Sabagh's action and urged her continue.
"Not a word," he said, according to the paper, when Sabagh asked him the first question.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid).
