Turkish foreign minister meeting Arafat today

Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem is meeting today with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to hold talks, as well as meeting with high-ranking Palestinian officials.

Cem is making a three-day official visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories to discuss the halt in the Palestinian - Israeli peace process. He also met yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Cem said, "Israel and Palestine are among the countries with which we have important relations."

Cem's visit comes in reply to an official visit that was paid by then-Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy to Turkey in April 1997.

Cem added, "Bilateral relations and the Palestinian - Israeli peace process will be always the pivot of our discussions and we will try to advance the peace process."