AMID bumos in efforts to form Palestinian govt, Abbas and Mashaal pay separate visits to Turkey

Coinciding with a scheduled visit to Ankara by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was reportedly in Istanbul yesterday. Problems in the two Palestinian parties' efforts to form a national government reportedly dominated Mashaal's meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. "At this critical stage, national unity must be preserved between the two Palestinian groups," press reports quoted Davutoglu as saying. Diplomatic sources said Mashaal left Istanbul, and that no meeting was planned between Mashaal and Abbas.