"Turkey gives top priority to stabilisation in its neighbour, Iraq. We back all stabilisation efforts in the region and we will take part within the NATO framework," Gul told a news conference with his Polish counterpart Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

"We have demonstrated since the beginning our support for stabilisation in Iraq. Poland is playing a role there and is already benefiting from (logistical) support from NATO. We are also prepared to lend our support," he said, speaking during an official visit to Poland.

Cimoszewicz, whose country heads a 9,000-strong multinational force overseeing one of Iraq's post war zones, said Warsaw hoped the NATO summit in Istanbul in June would "decide on a NATO commitment in Iraq" where, he said, Warsaw and Ankara "have big possibilities for political and economic cooperation".

NATO diplomats in Brussels say the alliance could take over command of the Polish division in Iraq as early as this year, but that no decision has yet been taken.

Poland, a close ally of Washington since the beginning of the Iraqi crisis, has officially called for a stronger NATO commitment in Iraq as quickly as possible.

WAR.WIRE