Turkey Prime Minister cancels New York trip

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has canceled a visit to the United States where he was due to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting, the Anatolia news agency reported Friday. Erdogan, who was originally scheduled to be in New York between September 22 and 25, will not be able to do so due to his upcoming party congress, as well as his busy schedule, said Anatolia. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress is slated for September 30, and will be attended by foreign leaders including Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, the local media reported. In Erdogan's absence, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will lead the Turkish delegation at the U.N. meeting. President Abdullah Gul had initially been scheduled to travel to New York but had to cancel due to a chronic ear infection.