"The Spanish government does not foreseee any participation in the process under way in Iraq, and in no circumstances any participation on Iraqi territory," Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told reporters here.

He was replying to a question on whether Spain would help train the fledgling Iraqi army.

Spain last month completed the withdrawal of its 1,400-strong military contingent in Iraq, fulfilling a pledge by the Socialist prime minister who came to power after a surprise general election victory on March 14.

NATO leaders pledged at a summit in Istanbul Monday to provide "full cooperation" to the new Iraqi government and to help train its soldiers.

The phrasing of the NATO agreement specifically left it open for such training to occur inside or outside Iraq -- a sop to France and Germany, which opposed the US-led invasion and have said they are unwilling to send troops into Iraq.

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