Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoganAFP photo

A planned visit by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was canceled by Egyptian authorities. The visit, originally scheduled for several months ago, was postponed several times due to the unrest in Egypt, but last week Erdogan was informed by Cairo that he could not visit at all.

News of the cancellation was reported by an Egyptian news site Sunday. Turkish officials did not confirm the report, but had previously said that no official date had been set for the visit.

A message on social network Twitter by Ibrahim Kalın, chief advisor to Erdogan, said that the visit was canceled to the “prolonged crisis” in Egypt. However, sources in Egypt said that the reason Erdogan was not welcome was concern over his Islamist positions and his affinity for the Muslim Brotherhood.

The visit was much anticipated by Hamas, and the organization condemned the new of the cancellation of the visit. “This is a dangerous development,” said a Hamas spokesperson, “which confirms that the current powers in Egypt are giving up on national causes and even using these issues to deal with other parties -- first among them the Palestinian cause.”