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Saudi Arabia's King Salman has been taken to hospital.
The 86-year-old is undergoing "medical examinations" there, the royal palace said on Sunday, without giving any further details.
As a rule, the royal family rarely comments on the state of health of the head of state.
In 2020, he underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder.
He was last seen in March for "successful medical tests" and to have his pacemaker battery replaced, state media reported.
Salman has been the head of the royal family since 2015.
In 2017, Riyadh denied reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favor of his son, Mohammed bin Salman.
The crown prince is already considered the de facto ruler of the oil-rich country.
The US intelligence services see the crown prince as the mastermind behind the murder of journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which had further strained diplomatic relations with numerous countries.
This was particularly true in Turkey, since Khashoggi was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.
Recently, however, relations between Ankara and Riyadh have improved again;
At the end of April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited the country and met Mohammed bin Salman.
fdi/AFP
