Patriarch John X of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East received Oleg Bartsits, the de facto foreign minister of Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia region, and an accompanying delegation, the Antioch Patriarchate reported on August 25, referring to Bartsits as the “Republic of Abkhazia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
The meeting was held in Damascus, Syria, where the Antioch Patriarchate is based.
Sources from Abkhazia’s de facto authorities are yet to report on the meeting; however, Sokhumi reported on the Damascus trip on August 24, saying the Abkhaz “delegation” included Bartsits and other de facto ministers from the occupied region. According to the press release, the delegation was to participate in the 63rd Damascus International Fair and meet with officials from relevant Syrian agencies, as well as representatives of the Abkhaz-Adyghe diaspora.
“During the visit, it is planned to discuss issues of developing bilateral relations and expanding cooperation between the Republic of Abkhazia and the Syrian Arab Republic in areas of mutual interest,” the de facto foreign ministry said.
In 2021, John X also hosted then-de facto Abkhaz leader Aslan Bzhania at his residence in Damascus. At the time, Georgian Orthodox Church representatives assessed the meeting as a “negative event.”
While Syria under President Bashar Assad recognized Abkhazia as an independent state in 2018, the Antioch Patriarchate, along with other Eastern Orthodox churches, has regarded Abkhazia as canonical territory of the Georgian Orthodox Church, under the Tskhum-Apkhazeti, or Sokhumi-Abkhazia, Eparchy.
Following Assad’s fall, Damascus under the new leadership has yet to withdraw its recognition, despite the growing campaign from Tbilisi and international actors to push Syria to reverse the decision.
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