Germany and Italy have said they will make every effort to put the Kurdish separatist leader, Abdullah Ocalan, on trial.

Following a meeting of the German and Italian foreign ministers Lamberto Dini and Joschka Fischer in Rome, legal experts from the two countries are to meet next week to examine the possibility of setting up an international court to try the PKK leader.

Turkish diplomats are in Italy to continue their campaign for the extradition of Mr Ocalan, who was arrested in Rome earlier this month.

Italy has refused to extradite him to Turkey because Turkey has the death penalty.

Germany has said it won't act on its own extradition request because of fears of racial tensions with its own Turkish minority.