"[Our troops] are doing a very significant, useful work there. We have no hostile intentions toward the Iraqi territory and territorial integrity. We are responsible for ensuring peace in the region," Yildirim said, as quoted by the Cumhuriyet newspaper.
Relations between Iraq and Turkey worsened after the Turkish parliament last week extended a mandate allowing Turkish troops to carry out operations in Iraq and Syria for 13 moths more to confront terrorist organizations.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi parliament adopted a resolution voicing a protest against the Turkish military presence in the town of Bashiqa, located about 19 miles northeast of Mosul. The lawmakers demanded the Iraqi authorities to take necessary legal and diplomatic measures, including a review of the economic relations between the two countries. Ankara has condemned the resolution.
On Thursday, Iraq requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the presence of the Turkish troops on the territory in the north of Iraq.
