ROME, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Tight security measures were implemented in the Italian capital on Sunday, as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan started his 24-hour visit to Vatican and Italy in the evening.
Extra police forces were deployed across the historic center, and a "green zone" was created where all demonstrations would be banned for 48 hours, the police chief's office said in a statement.
Some 3,500 officers would be overall distributed in and around Rome, according to Ansa news agency.
The Interior Ministry also said it ordered a "further tightening of anti-terrorism measures". Bomb disposal checks were carried out on all routes along which the Turkish president's convoy was planned to move across the capital.
The Turkish president was expected to visit Vatican first on Monday morning, meeting with Pope Francis and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, local media said.
He would then meet his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinale presidential palace. Talks with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni were scheduled at 4 p.m. local time on Monday, the PM's office said in a statement.
Erdogan would address the issue of Jerusalem during his meeting with the Pope, said La Stampa newspaper quoting the Turkish leader. In an interview with the Italian daily ahead of his visit, Erdogan declared the status of Jerusalem was "a central issue for both Muslims and Christians".
He added he felt committed to "protecting the status quo" of Jerusalem, after U.S. President Donald Trump's recent unilateral decision to recognize the city as
Another priority issue of his visit -- to be addressed with Italian authorities -- was Turkey's accession to the European Union (EU), after decades of unresolved negotiations. The Turkish leader urged the bloc to "keep its promises". Asked about possible alternatives to a formal entry as a EU member state, Erdogan told La Stampa that his country would seek only a "full membership of the EU". "We will not accept any other solution," he said. Bilateral talks with Mattarella and Gentiloni would also address cooperation in anti-terrorism and defense, migration, and economic exchanges with Italy, which is Turkey's third largest commercial partner.
