Palestinian President Abbas meets with Gul, Erdogan and Cicek

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, paying a working visit to Turkey, yesterday separately met with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek in Ankara. Gul welcomed his Palestinian counterpart with a ceremony at the Cankaya Presidential Palace. As part of Abbas' contacts with Gul, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations with Palestine, Palestinian reconciliation efforts and the Middle East peace process. Abbas' meeting with Erdogan at his official residence was closed to the press. Abbas was also welcomed by Cicek at his office in the Parliament, where he said that Turkey considers the Palestinian cause as its own. "Turkish people and state have been exerting efforts to ensure that your people are protected, your state is peacefully established and our Palestinian brothers and sisters enjoy peace and their rights," Cicek said, adding that Israel must act more responsibly and give up its rule-breaker attitude in roder to reach a solution on the issue. Speaking in his part, Abbas expressed his gladness over Turkey's contributions to Palestine in each realm of life such as economy, education and culture.