Turkish premier confers with Israeli President, Arafat

Israeli President Ezer Weizman today in occupied Jerusalem discussed with Turkish Premier Mesout Yilmaz bilateral relations and the Israeli-Turkish alliance. Israeli radio said the Israeli president praised relations between Turkey and Israel.

Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of Trade and Industry Natan Sharansky agreed with his Turkish counterpart Yassin Shelbi to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation and convene a joint economic meeting in Tel Aviv in December. The volume of trade exchange between Turkey and Israel reached more than US $621 million in 1997.

Later in the day Yilmaz met in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Israeli radio said the meeting dealt with the latest developments concerning Palestinian - Israeli negotiations and the problems impeding their resumption.