"We are looking positively at this in principle," Gul told the CNN-Turk news channel in comments over US requests from Ankara to contribute soldiers and civilian experts for the reconstruction process in post-war Iraq.

"Turkey has provided military support to contribute to peace in many regions in the world. Everybody knows that we are experienced on this issue," Gul said in reference to international peace-keeping missions in the Balkans and Africa.

He said that Ankara would formally inform Washington early next week of its readiness to send both troops and civilian experts, but added that the conditions of such a support would be up for discussion between the two sides.

The Turkish government will make a final decision on the issue after the United States sets out its requests in detail and clarifies how the missions will be financed, he explained.

"Turkey has always said that it will make contributions both to the rebuilding and political reconstruction of Iraq," the minister said.

But Ankara has signalled that it will be unwilling to pay the cost of any post-war missions in Iraq.

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said earlier this week that Washington had asked Turkey whether it could send soldiers, Arabic-speaking nuclear experts, explosives specialists and professionals in the fields of communications, computers and construction to Iraq.

A request for medical supplies and communication equipment was also on the list.

Relations between the US and its sole Muslim NATO ally suffered a severe blow just before the war on Iraq when the Turkish parliament rejected a US demand to deploy soldiers in Turkey for an invasion of its neighbor from the north.

After much hesitation, Turkey later allowed US war planes to use its airspace for bombing Iraq.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell has recently said that Washington was pleased with Turkey's cooperation in the war but had yet to decide whether to grant the country a one-billion-dollar aid package.

SPACE.WIRE