BY TULAY KARADENIZ AND ERCAN GURSES

Turkey has halted deploying troops to northern Iraq but will not obey Iraq's request to withdraw those already there, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, insisting Iraq knew the went to help fight Islamic State.

The arrival of a heavily armed Turkish contingent at a camp near the frontline close to the city of Mosul has added yet another controversial deployment to a war against Islamic State that has drawn in most of the world's major powers.

Russia, already furious after Turkey shot down one of its jets flying a sortie over Syria last month, said it considered the presence of the Turkish forces in Iraq illegal.

Ankara says its troops are in Iraq to train Iraqi forces. "Training at this camp began with the knowledge of the Iraqi defense ministry and police," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a meeting of deputies from his ruling AK Party.

The foreign ministry said Turkey had stopped the deployment two days ago due to the "sensitivities" of the Iraqi authorities and that Ankara would do nothing to call into question the sovereignty of Iraq, describing it as a "friend and brother".

In the last few days, Baghdad has denied it knew about the mission. Russia has asked the United Nations Security Council to hold closed-door discussions, due later on Tuesday, on Turkish military action in both Iraq and Syria.

In a phone conversation with his Iraqi counterpart late on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu emphasized Ankara's respect for Iraq's territorial integrity, spokesman Tanju Bilgic told reporters.

"He (Cavusoglu) said that our activities aimed to contribute to the struggle against Daesh (Islamic State) in Iraq and reiterated that the deployment had stopped," Bilgic said. "There is no withdrawal at the moment, but the deployment has stopped."

Davutoglu said he wanted to visit Baghdad as soon as possible to calm the row, saying the troops were intended to protect the training mission against attack by Islamic State.

"Those who make different interpretations of the Turkish military presence in Mosul are involved in deliberate provocation," he told the deputies.

RUSSIA, SYRIA, IRAN

While attention was focused on the dispute with Baghdad, Davutoglu made clear that the sharp deterioration in ties with Russia remained high on the agenda, with Turkey's cabinet discussing possible measures against Moscow on Monday.

"We are ready for talks and every kind of exchange of ideas with Russia but will never allow anything to be dictated to us," he said. "In the face of Russia's sanctions, we will implement our own sanctions if we regard it necessary."

Russia has imposed a raft of economic sanctions on Turkey since its fighter jet was shot down near the Syrian-Turkish border last month in disputed circumstances. Davutoglu has vowed steps to support Turkey's exporters and tourism sector.

Russia's increasing involvement in the Syrian conflict has put it at odds with Turkey, which has strongly supported rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that this support would continue, reiterating a demand for the creation of "safe zones" in northern Syria to protect displaced civilians and stop the flow of refugees.

"We are insisting on the creation of safe zones free of terror and the rapid implementation of our train-and-equip proposal for moderate rebels," he said in a speech.

Davutoglu for his part criticized "insults and attacks" directed at Turkey from within Iran, which, like Russia, is giving Assad wide-ranging military support.

He did not specify which comments he meant, but said: "If these attitudes continue, the traditional Turkey-Iran friendship will suffer great harm ... I know the Russian and Iranian people do not share this hostile stance of their leaders towards Turkey."

(Additional reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Istanbul, Isabel Coles in Erbil; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

REUTERS