Such a move would put Muslim Turkey in the front line in any attack on Iraq, which Washington accuses of developing weapons of mass destruction. But Ankara said it still wanted a peaceful resolution of Baghdad's disputes with the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis also reiterated Turkey's insistence on a second UN resolution, authorizing the use of force against Iraq, if Baghdad did not comply with the weapons inspections.

"Turkey wants a new UN resolution on the use of force. UN resolution 1441 does not allow the automatic resort to armed intervention," Yakis told a news conference after talks with his British counterpart Jack Straw. Resolution 1441 ordered Iraq to cooperate fully with the arms inspectors.

The United States already uses Turkish air bases to patrol a so-called "no-fly" zone over northern Iraq that US and British planes have enforced since the end of the 1991 Gulf War.

"What we mean by cooperation is opening air bases and opening facilities to use," Yakis said, adding that Ankara still hoped the standoff with Iraq could be resolved peacefully.

"We believe there shouldn't be any stone left unturned before resorting to a military solution," Yakis said.

"But if it comes to that, then of course we will cooperate with the United States because it is a big ally and we have excellent relations with the United States."

Asked if cooperation would include US planes launching combat strikes from Turkey, Yakis said: "Yes...If you're talking about air bases, yes, those will be opened."

The Foreign Ministry later sought to play down Yakis's comments, saying in a statement that the minister did not mean to imply any final decision had been made on support for any eventual military action. "This doesn't mean a commitment," the ministry said.

TURKISH TROOPS

US Defense Undersecretary Paul Wolfowitz, a leading hawk, was also in Ankara on Tuesday to lobby support for any possible action against Iraq.

"Our focus is to show...that we are not playing games any longer, that we have to have disarmament of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, voluntarily if possible, with force if necessary," Wolfowitz told reporters.

"Our focus now is on convincing Saddam Hussein that we're serious, the world is serious, US-Turkish cooperation is serious. That's our real hope for a peaceful resolution of this crisis," he said after meeting Prime Minister Abdullah Gul.

Wolfowitz refused to be drawn on Turkish press reports the United States wanted to station 100,000 American soldiers on Iraq's northern border and had asked Turkey to contribute as many as 40,000 of its own troops for any military campaign.

"I believe close Turkish-American cooperation will be key to achieving the goal of Iraq disarming voluntarily," he said.

A Turkish government source said Wolfowitz had not requested a specific number of troops, but added: "The necessity of a military presence was brought to the agenda."

Iraq promised on Tuesday to meet a UN deadline for handing over a declaration on its arms programs, but insisted again that it had no weapons of mass destruction.

An Iraqi official said a statement would be handed to the United Nations on Saturday -- a day before time runs out.

US President George Bush has said Iraq does have banned weapons and has to disarm. But a White House spokesman said guardedly that US officials would take an "appropriate time" to respond to an Iraqi declaration, after studying what is likely to be a lengthy document in Arabic.

After talks with Yakis, Wolfowitz said Baghdad would comply with the UN resolution only if it faced the threat of force from a unified international front.

"Our military and diplomatic planning must proceed because Saddam Hussein must see that we are serious. He has to see that he is surrounded by the international community."

(China Daily December 4, 2002)