Israel and Armenia will not attend a UN summit of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Istanbul next week, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday, May 6.

Israel and Armenia, both invited by the UN to attend the summit, will not send political delegations to the gathering, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Selcuk Unal told a news conference. The two countries will, however, attend the summit, due to take place on May 9-13, only at the technical level, he added.

About 50 countries are expected to attend the summit at the level of leaders. Seventy-five will send ministers while another 30 will send deputy ministers to the UN summit. The government has said invitations were sent to individual countries by the UN, not Turkey, which is only hosting the gathering, Today's Zaman reported.