Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan postponed his scheduled visit to Abu Dhabi following the issuance of an official statement attributing the postponement to a “health condition” that befell his Emirati counterpart, Mohammed bin Zayed. Later, the statement was deleted from the “X” platform without providing any official explanations about the reason for the deletion or the reasons for postponing the visit.

Published on: 02/16/2026 - 04:04 Last updated: 02/16/2026 - 08:54

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his visit to Abu Dhabi, which was scheduled for Monday, was postponed, explaining that the reason was due to a “health condition” that affected Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in a post on the X platform that was later deleted.

A statement by the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Department on Ex said that Erdogan made a phone call to the President of the UAE, during which he expressed his sadness over Al Nahyan’s health condition and wished him a speedy recovery.

The presidency also indicated in the three-paragraph publication, which was relied upon by official Turkish media, that Erdogan’s visit to the Emirates will take place on a new date to be determined later.

However, this post was later removed from the accounts of the Turkish presidency, and the reference to the health condition that befell the Emirati president was deleted from the official television report, TRT.

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In a subsequent update on Sunday evening, the Turkish presidency stated in a new post on Ex that the two presidents agreed to postpone their meeting to another date, without explaining the reason for the postponement.

The Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported that a phone call took place between the President of the State and Erdogan, without mentioning the issue of postponing the visit.

On Saturday, the Emirates News Agency published pictures of President Mohammed bin Zayed, in which he appeared smiling and in good health while receiving the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

France 24/AFP

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