MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The presence of Turkish forces on the territory of Iraq without the permission of Iraqi authorities is unacceptable, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
"An additional and very serious source of tension is the illegal presence of Turkish forces on the territory of Iraq near the city of Mosul, who arrived there without the relevant request or approval by the legitimate Iraqi government. We consider such presence unacceptable," the ministry said in a statement.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said the deployment of Turkish servicemen on Iraqi territory had been carried out without the consent and knowledge of the Iraqi authorities and represented a violation of sovereignty and a breach of the principles of good neighborliness.
Abadi on Monday gave Turkey 24 hours to withdraw its troops from Iraq to avoid the matter being reviewed by the UN Security Council. Turkey has refused to do so.