Palestinian leader in Turkey talks

Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas arrived here Tuesday for talks with Turkish leaders amid disagreements over the formation of a Palestinian unity government, officials said. Abbas will have a "private programme" before talks with Turkish leaders on Thursday and Friday, a Turkish diplomat told AFP, without giving other details. The Palestinian leader is scheduled to meet with President Abdullah Gul on Thursday, a presidential aide said. On Sunday, a Palestinian official cited the trip among the reasons for the postponement of a meeting between Abbas, who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, which had been scheduled for Tuesday in Cairo. But other officials said later that disagreement over who should be the next Palestinian premier were holding up the creation of a unity government agreed last month between old rivals Fatah and Hamas. The Cairo meeting was postponed due to Hamas opposition to the reappointment of Western-backed economist Salam Fayyad, they said. Under the terms of a unity deal signed in May, Fatah and Hamas must agree on independent figures to make up a government that will lay the groundwork for legislative and presidential elections within a year. Turkey has sought to mediate in efforts to reconcile the two factions, braving Israel's ire over contacts with Hamas. The Islamist-rooted government in Ankara insists that peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East if Hamas is excluded from the process.