During his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Powell asked for logistical support, including the provision of fuel to US forces in northern Iraq and permission to conduct search-and-rescue missions from Turkish soil, the NTV news channel reported.

He also asked for unrestricted passage for humanitarian aid to northern Iraq, the channel said.

Powell also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, and was scheduled to have talks with armed forces chief of staff General Hilmi Ozkok later in the day.

Armed with eggs and red paint, anti-war demonstrators followed Powell on his visits, as police deployed riot units across the capital.

Just minutes before Powell arrived at the Turkish foreign ministry for his meeting with Gul, riot police arrested some 50 anti-war protestors who had been shouting "Get out of Turkey" and "US murderer."

Powell told journalists while on his way to Ankara that the United States wanted Turkey to help 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," he said.

Washington's plans to deploy tens of thousands of US soldiers to Turkey to open a northern front in its war on Iraq were thrown into disarray after the Turkish parliament narrowly rebuffed the US request last month, angering the US government.

Powell told reporters accompanying him that there was still a "level of disappointment" in the United States over Turkey's failure to allow the deployment to go ahead, but he signalled that Washington was willing to mend fences with the sole Muslim member of NATO.

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

"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" to get Congress to approve a one-billion-dollar aid package for Turkey, he added.

Another source of friction between the two long-standing allies is Ankara's desire to send further troops into northern Iraq, where it fears Kurds could proclaim independence.

Such a prospect could set a dangerous example to Turkey's own large Kurdish population on the other side of the border, where a bloody separatist uprising took place in the 1980s and 90s.

Washington is anxious to prevent any chance of confrontation between Turkey and the Kurds, which would distract from its main aim of removing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

Diplomats said the thorny issue of a divided Cyprus and Turkey's bid to join the European Union were also to be on Powell's agenda.

Powell, who arrived in Turkey late Tuesday, was to travel on to Belgrade later Wednesday before heading to Brussels for discussions on Iraq with NATO and EU ministers.

During his stopover in Belgrade, he was to express support for the Balkan country following the assassination last month of prime minister Zoran Djindjic.

SPACE.WIRE