Israel defence chief visits Turkey

The Israeli Defence Minister, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, has said the main purpose of his visit to Turkey is to strengthen strategic ties between the two countries.

Mr Ben-Eliezer said he also wanted to promote joint projects between the Israeli and Turkish armed forces.

He was speaking in Ankara after meeting the Turkish Defence Minister, Sabahattin Cakmakoglu, and President Sezer.

Mr Ben-Eliezer also said that Israel and Turkey were worried about the very rapid development in Iran of nuclear weapons and non-conventional weapons.

Turkey and Israel have developed close security ties since the signing of a military accord in 1996.

The agreement angered many Arab countries and Iran.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service