On arrival in Ankara, Rasmussen told reporters that EU-NATO relations would be high on his agenda, along with the alliance's upcoming summit in Lisbon as well as Turkey's contribution to Afghanistan.

The NATO Secretary General will meet Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan before leaving Turkey later Thursday. No press statements were planned, Turkish officials said.

Turkey has been blocking closer security cooperation between NATO and the EU amid long-standing, entangled problems with Greece and Cyprus, who, for their part, have hampered Turkey's own efforts for closer ties with EU institutions.

Since coming into office in 2009, Rasmussen has made the resolution of this problem a priority.

Before Rasmussen's arrival, Davutoglu pledged that Ankara would work for a solution.

"We are ready to work together for a solution that will take into account Turkey's position and dispel its concerns. In this framework, there are some elements that we will share with him," he said, without elaborating.

Last month, Rasmussen urged EU leaders to consider "pragmatic solutions" to break the deadlock, proposing that the European bloc conclude an arrangement between Turkey and the European Defence Agency.

In return, Ankara would have to recognise that all EU members participate in EU-NATO cooperation, a clear reference to Cyprus, he said.

The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish north and Greek south since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied the island's northern third in response to a Greek Cypriot coup.

The internationally recognised Greek Cypriot south joined the EU in 2004. Turkey refuses to recognise the Greek Cypriot government and instead acknowledges the breakaway Turkish Cypriot statelet in the north.

The row has led Greece and Cyprus to object to any Turkish participation in the development of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) while Turkey has blocked the Greek Cypriots from joining EU-NATO meetings and from taking part in ESDP missions using NATO intelligence and resources.

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