Surrounded by unfriendly neighbors as a result of serious policy blunders, Turkey now finds itself facing a fresh crisis with Iraq, with which it has had less than warm relations in recent years. The cause of the latest fracas is the Dec. 3 deployment of 150 Turkish troops and 25 tanks to Bashiqa, a town north of Mosul, that Turkey argues are for training Kurdish peshmerga and Arab fighters to confront the Islamic State (IS).

The move has resulted in much speculation about Ankara’s true motives. Russia, with support from Baghdad, wasted little time capitalizing on the fresh crisis, calling for Turkish military actions in Syria and Iraq to be discussed at the UN Security Council. Moscow’s announcement followed Iraq’s threat to take the matter to the Security Council if Turkish troops were not withdrawn in 48 hours.

A Dec. 3 statement by Iraqi Prime Minister al-Haider Abadi’s office said, “Turkish troops numbering around one regiment armored with tanks and artillery entered Iraqi territory, and specifically the province of Ninevah … without the request or authorization from the Iraqi federal authorities.” It called the action a “serious breach of Iraqi sovereignty.”

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded by saying Turkish troops have been in Bashiqa since March 2015 with the blessing of the central government, regional authorities and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Government sources in Ankara said the deployment had been agreed to in December 2014 during a Davutoglu visit to Baghdad for talks with Abadi. In a letter to Abadi after the latest crisis, Davutoglu said that Turkey respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq better than others and that it would not send more troops to Bashiqa “until the sensitivities of the Iraqi government are placated.” Government officials in Ankara also said that the troops sent to Bashiqa, with the knowledge of the central government, are part of a routine rotation.