Contacts were being made on Tuesday with a view to setting up the meeting, which has been requested by the US administration, the source said.

Powell is set to discuss the US-led war on Iraq with Turkish leaders on Tuesday.

He will then travel on to Brussels for talks with NATO and three senior European officials -- EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, European External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten and Greek Foreign Minister Georges Papandreou, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 15-nation bloc.

The US State Department has said Powell hopes to raise issues about the invasion of Iraq, now in its 13th day, and about the post-war future of the oil-rich country.

SPACE.WIRE