Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has postponed a planned visit to Abu Dhabi, citing a “health problem” allegedly affecting United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to a message posted late Sunday by Erdogan’s office on the X platform, which was quickly deleted.
“Our president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, spoke by phone with the president of the UAE. During the conversation, President Erdogan expressed his regret over the health issue President Al Nahyan is facing and wished him a speedy recovery,” the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate wrote on X, a message for which the French news agency Agence France-Presse preserved a screenshot.
The three-paragraph post, which was immediately carried by Turkish state media, also stated that Erdogan “would travel to the United Arab Emirates at a later date, which will be determined at the appropriate time.”
The message has since been removed from the Turkish presidency’s X account, and state broadcaster TRT edited its article on the postponement, removing the reference to the Emirati president’s alleged health problem. A new post on X instead emphasized that “the two leaders said their meeting was postponed to a later date,” without providing a reason.
When contacted, Agence France-Presse received no response from either the Turkish presidency or UAE authorities, who have not publicly commented on the health of the 64-year-old leader.
Meanwhile, the office of President Mohammed bin Zayed released photos on Saturday showing him smiling and appearing healthy alongside Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, taken on the same day.
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