Abkhaz leader Sergey Bagapsh has again postponed his visit to Turkey, from October 17 to a later unspecified date, the Abkhaz news agency Apsnipress reported on Tuesday.

Kristian Bzhania, a spokesperson for the Abkhaz leader, said the visit was postponed because of the “internal situation in Turkey.”

News about Bagapsh intention to visit Turkey first emerged in April, but the visit has been postponed several times. Meetings with the Abkhaz community in Turkey were planned during the visit.

Tens of thousands of Muslim Abkhazians moved to the then Ottoman empire, as part of a larger Muslim migration process from the Caucasus in the nineteenth century. The repatriation of their descendants was set as a policy priority by the Abkhaz leader. Speaking about the demographic situation in Abkhazia in 2005, Bagapsh said that less than 70,000 ethnic Abkhazians lived in the region.