Antiochian Patriarch Ioann X of all the East visited Damascus accompanied by Oleg Barcic, the de-facto minister of foreign affairs of occupied Abkhazia. The meeting took place on August 25 at the residence of the Patriarch. The Abkhazian side did not comment publicly on the meeting, but in Sukhum, the visit of the delegation to Syria was confirmed. Barcic mentioned that other de-facto representatives of the region also visited. The meeting discussed the development of bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation between Abkhazia and Syria.