Saudi king postpones visit to France
AFP
PARIS- Saudi King Adbullah has decided to postpone a visit to France scheduled for next week and no official reason has been given for the delay, Le Monde newspaper reported on Friday.
A French official told AFP that the visit had never been formally decided.
The 86-year-old monarch left Riyadh in June for a multi-nation tour, traveling to Morocco, Canada for the Group of 20 summit, and Washington for talks with President Barack Obama last week.
President Nicolas Sarkozy had invited the king to inaugurate an exhibition of Arabian archeological treasures at the Louvre Museum on July 12 and to take part in Bastille Day celebrations two days later.
Le Monde said the king still plans to visit the exhibition before it closes on September 27.
"There had been a possibility for the king to come to France around July 14," said a French official, but the plan for the visit never materialised.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------