ISTANBUL, July 23, 2011 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas Saturday met with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Istanbul.

Abbas thanked Erdogan as Turkey hosted the Second Palestinian Ambassadors Conference and the continuous Turkish support for the Palestinian cause.

Abbas praised Erdogan’s speech during the Conference, in which he supported the Palestinian plan to seek United Nations recognition of a Palestinian state within 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital and reiterated the Turkish support of the Palestinian cause.

Erdogan also called on Israel to acknowledge the Palestinian legitimate rights and recognize the Palestinian state, as well as he called to immediately end the illegal siege on the Gaza Strip.

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki and his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, attended the meeting, which also discussed the Palestinian-Turkish bilateral relations.

R.Q./M.A.