Legal sources said Mr Ocalan, who was arrested in Rome on 12 November, was now poised to leave Italy.

Mr Ocalan: Wanted man, unwanted problem

They were speaking after Italian Justice Minister Oliviero Diliberto's rejected Turkey's attempts to place further restrictions on his movements.

Mr Ocalan's German lawyer, Britta Boehler, told Berlin Aktuell Radio that the situation would be cleared up on Thursday or Friday.

Mr Ocalan's other lawyers and advisers were in intense discussions with the Italian Government to find a solution, she said.

But Ms Boehler declined to say which country might take him.

'Ocalan has decided to leave'

Mr Ocalan, who showed up in Italy on a flight from Moscow, has been looking for a safe place to go since Syria expelled him earlier this year in response to heavy pressure from Turkey.

Estonia, Ukraine, Libya and North Korea have been mentioned in news reports as possible destinations.

The Italian TV network Canale 5 quoted a spokesman for Mr Ocalan as saying the leader, who had requested asylum from Rome, had now definitely decided to leave Italy.

Mr Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said he was still staying at a villa on the outskirts of Rome, where he moved shortly after he was detained.

Italy's tolerance of Mr Ocalan has angered the Turkish Government and sparked boycotts of Italian products.

'Massacring justice'

Ankara blames him for thousands of deaths during the PKK's 14-year armed struggle for a Kurdish homeland in the south-east of the country.

It wants Mr Ocalan returned to stand trial, but Italy refuses to extradite him on the grounds that a Turkish court could sentence him to death.

In Ankara, Turkish Justice Minister Hasan Denizkurdu accused Italy of "massacring justice" by trying to send Mr Ocalan away before considering a Turkish request for his extradition.

"All the principles of justice have been violated since Ocalan arrived in Italy," Mr Denizkurdu said.

He vowed Turkey would "follow him where wherever he goes'' and said the extradition request would still stand.

Italian Premier Massimo D'Alema has denied there are any negotiations to find a country to take the rebel leader.