ANKARA, December 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Turkey's support would be essential for any war against Iraq and the U.S. is prepared to help the country meet the economic cost of any war, the Pentagon's number two said Tuesday, December 3, after talks with Turkish leaders.

After talks with Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said that "Turkish-American cooperation can be the key to solving the problem" of disarmament in Iraq, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

He also signaled that Washington would help Ankara, which is nervous about both the political and the economic effects of a possible new war involving Iraq, tackle its economic problems.

"We understand the deep concerns and Turkey's anxiety about its economy and we want to support her to overcome the crisis," the U.S. official said.

"The political, economic and security impact on Turkey will be much better managed if Turkey is intimately involved in the planning from the onset," Wolfowitz said.

Talks between the U.S. delegation and Turkish diplomats in Ankara were attended by a senior Treasury official, a sign that financial matters figured high on the agenda, according to observers here.

The Turkish press said Tuesday that Washington pledged to scrap Ankara's military debt of some six to seven billion dollars if it met U.S. demands.

These include approval for the deployment of some 100,000 U.S. soldiers and the use of Turkish air bases and ports, according to the mass-circulation Hurriyet daily.

Washington also asked that some 35,000 Turkish soldiers participate in a possible operation, the paper added.

The Turkish foreign ministry declined to comment on the media reports.

A U.S. official said last week that Washington was considering an initial aid package worth between 700 million and 800 million dollars -- which could rise into the billions over a multi-year period -- for Turkey in swap for supporting strikes on Iraq.

Speaking to reporters, Wolfowitz also made clear that the U.S. was serious about disarming Iraq.

"We are not playing games. Our focus is now to convince (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein that the U.S. is serious and the world is serious," Wolfowitz told reporters.

His warning came in the run-up to a December 8 deadline for Iraq to come clean on its report on alleged weapons of mass destruction at a time when U.N. weapons inspectors have returned to Iraq following the adoption of new disarmament resolution by the U.N. Security Council.

Wolfowitz said he wanted to see a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi crisis, but said this depended on "persuading Saddam to disarm voluntarily."

The U.S. official, accompanied by Undersecretary of State Marc Grossman, arrived in Turkey earlier Tuesday for two days of talks with Turkey's new government.

The new government opposes a military operation against its neighbor, but observers here believe that Turkey, the only Muslim member of NATO, would eventually allow the United States to use its air bases for a possible attack.

Turkey fears that war in the region could undermine its already weak economy and lay the ground for breakaway Kurds in northern Iraq to move towards independence.

This could fan separatism among Turkey's own Kurds.

Turkey backed the U.S.-led coalition in the 1991 Gulf War and says it incurred a financial loss of some 40 billion dollars due to the trade embargo imposed on Iraq for its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Its southern Incirlik base has since been home to U.S. and British warplanes enforcing a self-styled no-fly zone in northern Iraq.

On Monday, December 2, the United States leaned hard on the 15-nation European Union to open its doors to Turkey, saying it would be a crucial step to encouraging democratic reform in the Muslim world.

Wolfowitz, speaking in London, conceded it was up to EU leaders -- not Washington -- to decide if and when to open accession talks with Ankara.

But he left no doubt that the United States' strategic interests would be best served if Turkey were to take its place in the European Union.

"It really is impossible to overstate how decisive this period is," he said, referring to the EU summit in Copenhagen on December 12-13 that will address the Turkish question.

"The Turks are striving to develop a free and democratic and tolerant society that could be a useful model for others in the Muslim world," said Wolfowitz at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

"It is the great good fortune for NATO and the West, indeed of the world, that Turkey -- one of the strongest, most reliable, most self-reliant of allies -- occupies one of the most strategic crossroads of the world," he said.

A breakthrough on Turkey at Copenhagen, he said, would be "to the benefit not only of Turkey and of Europe, but to the entire world -- including my country."

"History suggests that a European Union that welcomes Turkey will be even stronger, safer and more richly diverse than it is today," Wolfowitz said.

"The alternative exclusionary choice is truly unthinkable," said Wolfowitz, one of the best-known "hawks" on Iraq in the Bush administration.

On Iraq, where U.N. arms inspectors continued their hunt for evidence of alleged weapons of mass destruction, Wolfowitz steered clear of talk about "regime change" in Baghdad.