"We have delayed this visit, but I will definitely go there," he told journalists who asked him if he would visit the country in January, according to Anatolia news agency.

Gul was expected to visit Iraq earlier this month in what would have been the highest level Turkish visit to the country since the US-led invasion in 2003.

He was also scheduled to go to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Russia.

His visit to Iraq is expected to focus on militants from the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) based in the mountains of northern Iraq. The rebel group has waged a bloody campaign for self-rule in southeast Turkey.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is expected to discuss the subject during his visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 44,000 lives.