Sudan's indicted President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will not attend an Islamic summit in Istanbul as planned, Turkish government officials said on Sunday, after the European Union raised objections to his visit.
Bashir, against whom the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for crimes against humanity in Sudan's Darfur region, had announced plans to attend a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) on Monday.
"We have learned that he is not coming," a Turkish government official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, without elaborating. Other Turkish officials, visibly relieved at the news, also confirmed that Bashir was not attending.
Predominantly Muslim Turkey, which is seeking EU membership, had come under pressure from Brussels and international human rights groups to drop Bashir from the guest list.
Turkey, which has deepened economic ties with Sudan, has not ratified the statute that established the ICC and had said it had no plans to arrest Bashir.
Campaigning group Human Rights Watch had said that Nato member Turkey's international image would "plummet" if Ankara did not bar Bashir's entry. Bashir has travelled to African countries since his arrest warrant was issued by the ICC in March.
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