ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has canceled a trip to Qatar this week to spend more time recovering at home from an operation, his office said Wednesday.

Erdogan, 57, underwent abdominal surgery on Nov. 26 and has been resting and out of the public eye since then.

His absence – which has led to the cancelation of two consecutive Cabinet meetings despite there being four deputy prime ministers – has caused some commentators to reflect on what void Erdogan would leave if anything happened to him.

Having led Turkey for the past decade, Erdogan dominates the political landscape, and all key decisions rest with him.

The prime minister’s office has said Erdogan is in good health and has released photographs of him smiling and meeting with Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani visiting Erdogan at his Istanbul residence Wednesday and with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden Saturday.

Biden, who was with Erdogan for two hours, told reporters: “He looked to me good, his stamina was real.” Biden also said that Erdogan thought he was going back to work “relatively soon.”

Erdogan, one of the most popular Muslim leaders among Arabs, had been scheduled to visit Qatar on Dec. 10-12.