RIYADH, Saudi Arabia >> A Gulf official says the signing ceremony of a deal to end Yemen’s political crisis has been indefinitely postponed, signaling the possible collapse of the agreement.

Ahmed Khalifa al-Kaabi, a media official at the Riyadh headquarters of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, said on Sunday that the postponement was caused by the refusal of the Yemeni president to personally sign the deal.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s leader of 32 years, told the GCC secretary general in a meeting late Saturday in Sanaa that he had asked a senior aide to represent him in the signing ceremony in Riyadh.

The ceremony was expected to be held on Sunday or Monday.

The GCC deal provides for Saleh to step down within 30 days.