The seat of the Maronite church announced on Wednesday that Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will not hold talks with Syrian officials during his visit to Damascus next week.

Bkirki’s press officer Walid Ghayyad said the June 8 trip is “pastoral and will not include any political meetings.”

Al-Rahi’s visit to the Syrian capital has three objectives – Inaugurating the Maronite Social Center, participating in a Christian spiritual summit and attending the inauguration of the Orthodox patriarchate, he added.

This will not be the first time that al-Rahi travels to Damascus as a patriarch. He visited the Syrian capital around two years ago when he attended Greek Orthodox leader Youhanna X Yazigi’s enthronement.

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