"We need to find pragmatic solutions for that," Fogh Rasmussen said.

Frustrated in its attempts to join the EU, Turkey does not allow formal relations between NATO and the EU, making it impossible for NATO to provide protection for EU trainers in Afghanistan.

NATO member Turkey also does not recognize the Greek Cypriot-led government on the divided island of Cyprus, a member of the EU. Turkey retains 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

NATO has deployed about 71,000 troops in Afghanistan, nearly half of them Americans, while most of the others come from European allies including Turkey. And the EU has deployed a police training mission whose goal is to professionalize and eliminate corruption within the 90,000-strong Afghan National Police.

NATO and EU commanders have complained about the lack of formal ties between the two organizations due to the Turkish veto, although they say that the military and police missions collaborate well on an ad hoc basis.

In August, the new NATO chief traveled to Athens and Ankara to urge their governments to end the political deadlock because it was having an adverse effect on allied operations in Afghanistan.

"It is really one of my priorities to improve the relations between NATO and the EU. We desperately need that," said Fogh Rasmussen, who was attending a rare joint meeting of all European Union foreign and defense ministers.

He said that both NATO and the EU urgently needed a formal security arrangement that would regulate their cooperation in Afghanistan.

"It would be natural to conclude such a security agreement. But we can't under present circumstances," he said.