BRUSSELS: Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades pulled out of a European Union summit on Thursday after he was taken to a Brussels hospital with a nose bleed, the government said.

After tests showed he was suffering from high blood pressure, doctors sent the president back to his Brussels hotel and advised him to rest for 48 hours, a Cypriot government statement said.

Anastasiades contacted European Council President Herman Van Rompuy to let him know he would not be able to take part in a two-day summit, starting on Thursday and focusing on climate change policy and the economy.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will represent Anastasiades, Cypriot government spokesman Nikos Christodoulides said on Twitter.

Copyright Reuters, 2014