Relations between the United States and Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, have deteriorated since the Turkish parliament on March 1 narrowly rejected US plans to deploy 62,000 troops here to open a northern front in the war.

Powell told journalists travelling on his plane that Washington was no longer asking Turkey to approve the deployment of the US troops on its soil, but now wanted Ankara to support US military operations in northern Iraq.

"We are not looking at the kind of requests that we were looking at a month or so ago... these are requests having to do with just sustaining the operations in northern Iraq, and it should not be difficult for the Turks to accommodate."

But he said there was still a "level of disappointment" in the United States, the White House and Congress over Turkey's failure to approve the deployment of the US troops.

The Turkish parliament's decision was criticised last week by US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz as a "big mistake", which had made the war in Iraq longer than necessary.

"We are looking for a spirit of accommodation. We are not looking for divisions to come or anything like that," said Powell.

"If we get full cooperation in the days ahead, especially in the aftermath of the operation Iraqi freedom and full support for humanitarian efforts as well as support of troops that are now in northern Iraq, I think this will help," Powell added.

In Ankara, Powell was expected to continue hammering home Washington's opposition to Turkish troops crossing over into northern Iraqi territory, an area controlled by Kurdish forces allied to the United States.

Ankara fears that Kurds there could declare an independent state, setting a dangerous example to its own large Kurdish population just across the border in southeastern Turkey, which has only just started to recover from a separatist rebellion that left more than 36,000 people dead since the mid-1980s.

Washington, for its part, is anxious to prevent any confrontation emerging between Turkey and the Kurds, which would provide an unwelcome distraction from its main war aim of toppling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Powell said the situation in northern Iraq was "pretty stable... and therefore we see absolutely nothing that would require such an incursion".

He was expected to meetWednesday with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and possibly with armed forces chief of staff, General Hilmi Ozkok.

Several Turkish newspapers suggested Tuesday Powell might have new military demands up his sleeve.

But Gul dismissed the suggestion, saying: "What we know right now is that Powell is visiting an allied country. There is nothing planned".

Diplomats said other issues, such as the future status of the divided island of Cyprus, Turkey's drive to join the European Union and the "war on terror" would also be on the agenda of Powell's visit.

"The visit will focus more on bilateral issues than on Iraqi related contingencies," according to a Turkish diplomat.

Powell was due to leave Ankara on Wednesday for a lightning trip to the Serbian capital Belgrade. From there he will fly on to Brussels for meetings with European Union and NATO foreign ministers to discuss the war in Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE