Brussels  - Turkey has nothing against Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Friday, three days after a top official warned that Ankara could block the Dane's appointment as NATO secretary general.

"We as Turkey don't have any attitude against the prime minister or anyone else. He is one of the most successful prime ministers in Europe," Gul told reporters in Brussels after meetings with European Union officials.

Rasmussen is widely tipped to become NATO's next secretary general in the summer, but in recent weeks speculation has arisen that Turkey could block his appointment because of the controversial publication of cartoons satirizing the prophet Mohammed in Denmark.

Gul tried to calm that debate, saying, "Let's not talk too much about religion, because it's divisive: we are concerned about the future of NATO."

NATO heads of state and government are set to gather for the alliance's 60th anniversary summit in the French town of Strasbourg and its German neighbours, Baden-Baden and Kehl, on April 3. The summit is expected to nominate a successor to current Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

But Gul said that there was no pressure to take a decision at the summit, stressing that in purely procedural terms, the appointment could be made at any stage.

And he also insisted that there is, as yet, no formal candidate for the job. Rasmussen has so far said that he has no plans to leave his current post.

"Once the names are out, then we'll speak our opinion," Gul said.

On Tuesday, the deputy chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) Foreign Affairs Committee said that his country opposed Rasmussen's potential appointment.

"We cannot accept a man who does not respect our religious faith and our holy values, who has shown disrespect in the past, to become the head of NATO," Suat Kiniklioglu said. (dpa)