Abbas in Turkey for Talks with Top Leaders

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Ankara Tuesday for talks with Turkish leaders amid disagreements over the formation of a Palestinian unity government, officials said.

Abbas will have a "private program" before talks with Turkish leaders on Thursday and Friday, a Turkish diplomat told Agence France Presse, without giving other details.

The Palestinian leader is scheduled to meet with President Abdullah Gul on Thursday, a presidential aide said.

On Sunday, a Palestinian official cited the trip among the reasons for the postponement of a meeting between Abbas, who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, which had been scheduled for Tuesday in Cairo.

But other officials said later that disagreement over who should be the next Palestinian premier were holding up the creation of a unity government agreed last month between old rivals Fatah and Hamas.

The Cairo meeting was postponed due to Hamas opposition to the reappointment of Western-backed economist Salam Fayyad, they said.

Under the terms of a unity deal signed in May, Fatah and Hamas must agree on independent figures to make up a government that will lay the groundwork for legislative and presidential elections within a year.

Turkey has sought to mediate in efforts to reconcile the two factions, braving Israel's ire over contacts with Hamas.

The Islamist-rooted government in Ankara insists that peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East if Hamas is excluded from the process.