Turkey cautious over Palestinian state

The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, has met the Turkish prime minister, Bulent Ecevit, as he continues to seek international support for a declaration of a Palestinian state.

After the talks in Ankara, Mr Ecevit restated Turkey's support for the principle of Palestinian statehood; but he didn't say whether he would back Mr Arafat's plans to declare a state on September the thirteenth.

Mr Arafat's visit to Ankara is the latest in a series of international trips since the Camp David peace talks with the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, collapsed last week. Although Turkey has traditionally backed Palestinian aspirations, it also has close ties with Israel.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service