UN Special Representative for Iraq Jan Kubis on Friday said that the presence of Turkish troops in the Iraqi province of Nineveh was a violation of Iraq's sovereignty.

In a meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari, Kubis said that he held talks with the Turkish ambassador to Iraq, in which he stressed the need for Ankara to solve the issue with Baghdad.

The UN will exert utmost efforts to prevent any infringement of Iraq's sovereignty, the official said.

The deployment on December 3 of hundreds of Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq, near the city of Mosul, has sparked a diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Baghdad.

Sources: MENA