Istanbul, July 11 (IANS) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul to discuss regional and bilateral issues.

During the meeting on Saturday, Erdogan emphasised that as long as Israel's "occupation and annexation policies" continue, it will not be possible to establish lasting peace and stability in the region, Xinhua news agency quoted an official statement as saying.

The Turkish leader reiterated that Ankara did not and will not remain silent about Israel's "atrocities" in Palestine.

Erdogan also noted that Turkey and Palestine have been improving their bilateral relations in many areas, including trade, culture, education, and tourism, according to the statement.

Following their talks, the leaders co-chaired a meeting between the delegations from two sides.

--IANS ksk/