KHARTOUM, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government said Monday non-participation of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in an economic summit in Turkey was due to pressures put on Ankara by the European Union, in addition to the current political situation in Sudan.

"After the pressures put on Turkey by the European Union rejecting participation of President al-Bashir in the summit, the political leadership decided to cancel the president's participation to avoid further pressures on Turkey," said Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Karti, in a statement issued at Khartoum airport Monday.

"The ongoing consultations between the Sudanese government partners, the National Congress Party, and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, need the president to be present in the country, and therefore, the president decided not to go to Turkey," he added.

The Sudanese president returned to Khartoum on Monday after participating in the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, which concluded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh earlier in the day.

On Monday, Turkey hosted an economic summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference to seek means to enhance economic and commercial cooperation amid the global financial meltdown.