Robert Zoellick, deputy secretary of state, said Turkey needs a "360-degree perspective" to act as a safe haven in an otherwise troubled region and to be able to react to emerging global players such as India and China.

"We will continue to support Turkey's accession to the EU," he said at a U.S.-Turkish business conference in Washington. "But it's important that our bilateral ties are not too constrained by the process," he said, adding in the past, "it might have been."

Turkey, a geographical and cultural link between Eastern Europe and the Middle East, borders not only Bulgaria and Greece, but also Syria, Iran and Iraq. The country is due to start accession talks with the EU in October, but some member countries, including Germany and France, have voiced concerns over Turkey's integration.

Proponents of EU enlargement say Turkey could serve as a link between Europe and the Arab world, thus further spreading democracy to that region.

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul told the conference his country's ties with the EU could strengthen the U.S.-Turkish relationship on security in the Middle East.

"Turkey as an EU member will be even stronger in its effectiveness to positively influence the region," said Gul, who is also Turkey's deputy prime minister.

Gul said Turkey was committed to do its share to make EU membership a reality, without forgetting the importance of its position as a door to the Middle East.

"Our commitment is to generate security and stability in our wider region," he said.

Gul's remarks kicked off three days of bilateral talks between the two countries. While he met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice shortly after the conference, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet with President Bush Wednesday.

Both Washington and Ankara seem to be eager to show off renewed trans-Atlantic ties after a brief spat over the Iraq war, which Turkey opposed.

Zoellick noted Iraq might need Turkey's help the most.

"The new Iraqi government will look to its neighbors for support," he said, adding the visit of Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to Turkey earlier this year proved renewed "respect and interest" between both countries.

Gul said Turkey would continue to foster close relationships with governments in the Middle East, including Iraq, but peace and security depended on the preservation of Iraq's territorial unity, he said, adding Iraqis should vote for the benefit of the whole country rather than for regional interests.

The comments are an apparent reference to Iraq's powerful Kurdish minority. Ankara fears greater autonomy for Iraq's Kurdish north could foster secessionist sentiments among its own large Kurdish minority. The Kurds are the world's largest stateless people.

Zoellick assured Turkey that Iraq would continue to be one state.

"Iraq will be a unitary state, probably with a measure of federalism," he said.

The Turkish official also noted his country's key role in the Middle East peace process as an ally of both Israel and the Palestinians. He said Ankara would continue to use its relationships with both sides to "keep the window of opportunity for peace open."

He said three-party meetings in Ankara earlier this year jumpstarted business relationships that are leading the way to establish "stable environments" that might lead to increased Israeli-Arab cooperation.

Turkey is a key example of the Bush administration's push for more freedom in the Islamic world. Although a Muslim-majority country with an Islamist-leaning government, Turkey has secular Western credentials and good relations with most neighbors.

Zoellick compared the current situation in the Middle East to the fall of the Soviet Union, saying he sensed a similar force when dealing with the Cold War power in 1988.

"There is an extraordinary change going on in the region," he said, referring to democratic elections in Afghanistan and Iraq and increased women's rights in Kuwait.

Turkey can play a vital role to further spread the dialogue between Islam and forces of modernization, he said.

"Turkey is a country that has shown a path of democracy in the Arab world," he said. "It can have an important influence on the course of this debate...Turkey can be a leader in the region."

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