United Nations: Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday appeared to play down a dispute between Baghdad and Ankara over the deployment of Turkish troops in northern Iraq, saying bilateral talks between the neighbouring states to end the row were proceeding favourably.

“We are solving it between Baghdad and Ankara bilaterally,” Iraqi Ambassador Mohammad Ali Al Hakim told reporters after Russia raised the issue of Turkey’s deployment during a closed-door meeting of the United Nations Security Council. “We have not yet escalated it to the Security Council or to the United Nations. For us, what is helpful is the bilateral discussion going on right now between Baghdad and Ankara, and it’s going extremely well,” he said, adding that Moscow had not consulted with Baghdad before raising the issue in the council.

But Al Hakim reiterated that Iraq wanted the Turkish troops withdrawn from its territory immediately, saying the deployment was “illegal” and a violation of the United Nations charter.

Turkey has said the deployment was previously agreed with Iraq, a position US Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters was also her understanding. Ankara says its troops are training Iraqi soldiers to fight Daesh militants, who have seized territory in Iraq and Syria.

Russia is still seething over a November 24 incident in which Turkey shot down a Russian plane near the Syria-Turkey border.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara have nose-dived since that incident, which diplomats said was the real reason Moscow raised the issue of the Turkish troops in Iraq.

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the discussion on Turkish military action in Syria and Iraq was helpful, though he suggested he was disappointed that the 15-member Security Council did not issue a statement reaffirming the principles of territorial integrity and national sovereignty.

“Our idea was to call the attention of the members of the Security Council to the situation,” he said. “We believe that Turkey has acted recklessly and inexplicably, carrying out additional deployments on the territory of Iraq without the consent of the Iraqi government.” He suggested that the Turks were simply following the example of the US-led coalition against Daesh, which is conducting air strikes against the group on Syrian territory without the consent of the Damascus government.

Turkey’s UN Ambassador Halit Cevik his country is “very respectful of the territorial integrity, sovereignty of our neighbour”.

He said Turkey is talking “to our friends” and trying to settle the issue, so “let’s give time to this process which is the first, best and utmost way to solve this”.

Churkin said if bilateral talks between Iraq and Turkey solve the dispute, “that’s good”.

Iraq’s Al Hakim said Turkish troops crossed the border illegally and “we have made it very clear that what came through the border has to go back.”

Turkey’s Cevik said his government considers Daesh one of its greatest threats. He noted that Turkish trainers have been in Iraq for almost a year and when Ankara became aware “of some kind of sensitivity on the Iraqi side” after the recent employment it contracted Iraq to sort it out.

Churkin said that if Turkey’s actions were taken in the interest of fighting Daesh extremists and in the interest of Iraq, “why not ask for permission of the government of Iraq?”

Moscow has criticised the US-led coalition for not seeking the permission of the government of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, whom many Western and Gulf nations want ousted.