Heart surgery for Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will be pushed back until early next year due to a heavy official engagements program, his spokesperson said on Thursday.

Government spokesperson Nicos Christodoulides originally announced on Wednesday that the operation would be performed "in a short time."

However, in later statements to state television on Thursday Christodoulides said the operation would be performed early next year.

He said Anastasiades has scheduled a visit to Israel on Dec. 2 which is considered to be a very important part of a drive to forge a tripartite cooperation between Cyprus, Greece and Israel on energy, defense and regional issues.

Anastasiades is also planning visits to Moscow and Abu Dhabi and said he would like to attend a European Union summit on Dec. 17.

The Cypriot president is also expecting the Slovak head of state to make an official visit at the beginning of December.

"Given that the Christmas and New Year's holiday season is close by, the surgery will be performed shortly afterwards," said Christodoulides.

The operation would most likely be performed in Cyprus, he said.

Anastasiades, aged 68, was advised to undergo a mitral valve operation when he visited a medical center for a routine check up on Tuesday.

The mitral valve controls the forward flow of blood between the left atrium and the left ventricle.

It was not clarified whether the surgery would repair or replace the valve.

Medical sources said that depending on the scope of the operation, it could be performed through several small incisions, thus avoiding open heart surgery, and would require hospitalization for three to five days.