The leader of the party that will form Turkey's next government, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has arrived in Italy at the start of a tour of European Union countries.

Mr Erdogan is said to be anxious to reassure members of the union that his Justice and Development (AK) Party does not back an Islamist agenda.

He wants to gain support for Turkey's bid to start talks on EU membership; a recent EU report said the country had not yet met the criteria to allow discussions to begin.

Speaking ahead of talks in Rome with the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, Mr Erdogan said the political unity shown by the result in recent elections meant Turkey could now address human rights and religious issues which he acknowledged were still causing EU concern.

Mr Erdogan had planned to travel to northern Cyprus on Wednesday, but the visit was cancelled due to the illness of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, who is recovering from heart surgery in the United States.

He is due to meet the EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, in Ankara on Thursday, and next week plans to visit Greece, Spain and Britain.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service