The leader of Turkey's election-winning party Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cancelled a visit to breakaway Turkish northern Cyprus scheduled to take place next week, a party official said on Saturday.
The visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was cancelled because Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash may not be back on the island in time for the visit, the official explained. Denktash is currently in New York recovering from two heart operations.
Erdogan, chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), will now make his first foreign trip to Italy on November 13, before visiting Greece and Spain on November 18 and 19, the official added.
The AKP won a majority in legislative elections in Turkey last week, but Erdogan can not become Prime Minister because of a 1998 conviction for religious sedition. His party is expected to name a replacement next week when the new parliament is formally inaugurated. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
