  We investigate optimal separable approximations (decompositions) of states
rho of bipartite quantum systems A and B of arbitrary dimensions MxN following
the lines of Ref. [M. Lewenstein and A. Sanpera, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 2261
(1998)]. Such approximations allow to represent in an optimal way any density
operator as a sum of a separable state and an entangled state of a certain
form. For two qubit systems (M=N=2) the best separable approximation has a form
of a mixture of a separable state and a projector onto a pure entangled state.
We formulate a necessary condition that the pure state in the best separable
approximation is not maximally entangled. We demonstrate that the weight of the
entangled state in the best separable approximation in arbitrary dimensions
provides a good entanglement measure. We prove in general for arbitrary M and N
that the best separable approximation corresponds to a mixture of a separable
and an entangled state which are both unique. We develop also a theory of
optimal separable approximations for states with positive partial transpose
(PPT states). Such approximations allow to decompose any density operator with
positive partial transpose as a sum of a separable state and an entangled PPT
state. We discuss procedures of constructing such decompositions.
