Nechirvan Barzani told a news conference in the regional capital Arbil that Turkish troops were positioned in the Iraqi-Kurdish enclave with local consent and lent his support to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's visit to Ankara.

"There is a Turkish presence in the province and this is in coordination with the provincial government," he said.

Turkey has long maintained around 1,500 troops several kilometres (miles) inside Iraqi territory to prevent the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it considers a terrorist group, from crossing its sprawling mountainous border.

But Iraqi officials have expressed concern over a larger troop buildup inside southern Turkey, amid warnings from Turkish commanders that they are ready to launch raids if PKK infiltration continues.

"The military buildup is not a problem between the regional government and Turkey, but rather between Turkey and Iraq, which is a sovereign state," Barzani added.

He backed Maliki's visit and urged all Kurdish political leaders to hold talks with Turkey in order to end the dispute over the PKK.

"We hope the visit will be a start to curing all problems. We are ready to hold talks with Turkey at any time. We stretch out our hand towards friendship and good neighbourly relations," Barzani said.

Turkey has threatened military action in northern Iraq against the PKK if Iraq and the United States fail to clamp down on the rebels.

Ankara charges that the PKK -- whose bloody campaign for self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984 has claimed more than 37,000 lives -- enjoys free movement in northern Iraq.

Turkey has accused the forces of Massud Barzani, who heads northern Iraq's Kurdish region, of providing the PKK with weapons, possibly including ammunition received from the United States.