"Any country ... which sends peace-keeping units to Iraq, if it wishes to use our (sea and air) ports, will be able to use them and transfer troops through our territory," Gul told reporters, adding the decision was made at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

NATO member Turkey, Iraq's northern neighbor, is home to several important airbases and sea ports.

Turkish transportation facilities will also be available for other humanitarian missions in the reconstruction of Iraq, Gul said.

Turkish officials say Ankara's permission followed requests by some of the countries which were members of the US-led coalition against Iraq and which are set to send peacekeepers to the war-torn country.

The permission, which does not require parliamentary approval, applies to the transit of forces and to the transit and storage of equipment, they added.

There is no definite decision yet on the bases and ports to be used, but Ankara believes the southern air base of Incirlik and the Mediterranean port of Mersin would be suitable due to their proximity to Iraq.

Incirlik was used by US and British warplanes to enforce a no-fly zone over northern Iraq from the time of the Gulf War in 1991 till this year's outbreak of war in Iraq.

The base is still used as a refuelling stop, notably for US planes heading to Afghanistan.

Ankara is eager to help in the rebuilding of Iraq to make up for its failure to back the US-war against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The use of Turkish bases and ports for logistical and humanitarian purposes in line with UN Resolution 1483, which lifted sanctions against Iraq, was among a series of proposals recently made by Turkey to the United States on how Ankara might contribute to the restructuring of Iraq.

Other proposals relate to projects in the fields of banking, health, telecommunications and construction.

Ankara is now waiting for a nod from Washington to go-ahead with its projects.

Turkish and US ties were strained after the Turkish parliament rejected the deployment of US troops on its soil for a northern invasion of Iraq, hampering Washington's war plans.

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