Turkish Prime Minister Mr Abdullah Gul said today his government would seek parliamentary authority for US forces to modernise bases in Turkey for use in a possible Iraq war.
"Tomorrow we will go to parliament and win authority from parliament," Mr Gul told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting.
The US has signalled concern over the delay in a response from its close NATO partner on requests to use Turkish air bases and military facilities to establish a secondary, northern front against Iraq in the event war breaks out.
An official from Mr Gul's Justice and Development Party said the government would only seek the power to allow US military engineers to upgrade Turkish facilities.
A decision to allow larger numbers of US troops to use Turkey as a base for an attack on Iraq would require another parliamentary decision.
Turkish newspapers said that US Vice President Mr Dick Cheney had telephoned Mr Gul to urge him to push parliament to approve the stationing of US troops, as well as allowing their transit through Turkey to Iraq, when lawmakers give the go-ahead on the base upgrades this week.
Washington has indicated it could provide a multi-billion dollar aid package to help Turkey offset any economic fallout from a war next door.
The Turkish government's delay may in part be aimed at appeasing public opinion, which is strongly opposed to a US-led war against its fellow Muslim neighbour.
Establishing a northern front from Turkey could prove critical in any US-led war against Iraq. Analysts have said it would relieve pressure on a main invasion force from Kuwait in the south, shortening the conflict and cutting down on the number of American casualties.