In a latest blow to the already strained ties between Turkey and Iraq, the Iraqi government called for the cancelation of treaties allowing the deployment of foreign troops on Iraqi soil, a move seen as another attempt by Nouri al- Maliki's government, which is at odds with Turkey on a number of issues, to challenge Ankara openly.

The decision by the Iraqi cabinet came on the heels of the Turkish government's referral on Tuesday of a resolution to the parliament, asking for an extension of the mandate for the deployment of Turkish troops to conduct military operations against the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq.

The PKK, listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been operating out of northern Iraq for almost three decades. Turkey claims that it exercises the right to self-defense under international treaties and has a right to go after the PKK in a hot pursuit with cross-border airstrikes and operations of land forces in areas where there is no authority of the Iraqi central government or regional Kurdish administration.

Iran, another neighbor of Iraq, also regularly conducts cross- border operations in the Qandil region of northern Iraq, where it fights with the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an Iranian wing of the PKK.

The current mandate expires on Oct. 17. The Turkish government is not expected to face any hurdle from the parliament, in which an overwhelming majority of deputies have approved similar resolutions since 2007. The only party that opposes to the resolution is the Peace and Democracy Party, seen by many as a political wing of the PKK.

"Turkey has every right to defend itself from terrorism," Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, head of Ankara's International Strategic and Security Research Center (USGAM), told Xinhua in an interview on the phone.

"Since neither the (Iraqi) central government nor the regional administration have the capacity to root out this terrorist elements from northern Iraq, Turkey has to act to defend itself from the destabilizing threat," he emphasized.

Turkey has been fighting the PKK since 1984, when it took up arms against the state with the goal of establishing an independent Kurdish state in the eastern and southeastern part of Turkey. The conflict is estimated to have cost the government some 300 billion US dollars. Over 40,000 people, including some 10, 000 soldiers, have been killed in the clashes thus far.

Military outposts

The Iraqi decision also aims to cut back the presence of Turkish troops in northern Iraq described as "military outposts" and maintained by Turkey since 1995 as part of its intelligence- gathering garrisons against the PKK.

There are four outposts, in Bamerni, Batufa, Kanimasi and Dilmentepe in northern Iraq, with some 2,500 soldiers. The Turkish military also has liaison offices in Suleymaniye and Arbil.

Turkey has agreements with both the Iraqi central government and local Kurdish administration to maintain these outposts. It is not clear how the revocation of agreements by Baghdad will affect these outposts, as Turkey enjoys very close ties with Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani, who runs the regional administration.

Erol said the issue of outposts was deliberately raised by the Iraqi government to test the waters in Ankara. "I think there is a strategic calculation behind this, especially by Iranians who have been cosying up to Maliki for some time. They do not like the way Turkey handles the Syrian crisis, during which Ankara openly calls for the departure of (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad, a close ally of Iran," he said.

The Syrian dimension to the PKK attacks was also confirmed by veteran strategist Sedat Laciner, who is the rector of 18 Mart University in Turkey's western province Canakkale. "It seems like Maliki feels quite close to Damascus and Tehran. At this point, the PKK freely moves at Turkey's borders with Syria, Iraq and Iran, he said.

Olive branch offering

Although Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged bitter accusations with Maliki in recent months, he has invited the latter to his ruling Justice and Development Party convention on Sunday in a bid to thaw the tension between Ankara and Baghdad. Maliki turned down the invitation, however, citing already- scheduled visits.

That did not stop other Iraqi politicians from going to Ankara to share the podium with the Turkish prime minister. Yalcin Akdogan, chairman of the Turkey-Iraq Parliamentary Friendship Group and a close confidant of Erdogan, issued a warning to Maliki, saying that "the relations between the two countries wouldn't be adversely affected in a major way by parties holding power at a certain time."

He emphasized that Turkey wants better relations with its southern neighbor, adding that relations between Turkey and Iraq are multi-dimensional and historical.

Akdogan's point was amplified when many Iraqi politicians showed up at the convention, including Iraqi Parliament Speaker Usama al-Nujaifi, Finance Minister Rafie al-Issawi, Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, Secretary General of the Iraqi Islamic Party Ayad al-Samarrai, Deputy Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Barham Salih, and Mustafa al-Yaqoubi, a senior aide to Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

Hashemi factor

Maliki is also uneasy about Turkey's sheltering Tariq al- Hashemi, Iraq's fugitive vice president who has been in Turkey since April. Hashemi was recently sentenced to death penalty in absentia in Iraq on charges of running death squads. But Turkey made it clear that it has no interest in extraditing him to the Iraqi authorities, citing the international obligations Turkey is under.

The European Convention on Human Rights, to which Turkey is party, bans any signatory state from turning over a suspect to another country where capital punishment is still in effect.

Turkey accuses Shiite Maliki for marginalizing the opposition in Iraq, mainly Sunni Arabs and Kurds, while Maliki criticizes Turkey for meddling in Iraq's internal affairs.

In August, Iraq said Turkey had violated Iraqi sovereignty by sending Turkish Foreign Minister Amet Davutoglu without official permission by the central government to visit Kirkuk, a city at the heart of a dispute between Baghdad and the country's autonomous Kurdistan region. Turkey denies the claim, saying that it had notified Baghdad in advance.

Oil and trade deals

Ankara and Baghdad are also at odds over oil deals the Kurdish administration signed with a number of Turkish private companies. The central government said exploration deals offered by the Kurdistan Regional Government to foreign firms Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Turkish companies are illegal, while the Kurdish region claimed that the Iraqi constitution gives the regional government rights to make own deals on gas and oil.

At stake is the huge trade Turkey has with Iraq, amounting to $12 billion as of 2011, heavily favoring Turkey. Iraq fired a warning shot across the bow for Turkey last month when it halted temporarily registering foreign companies. Since 90 percent of foreign firms operating in Iraq are Turkish firms, the move was interpreted as targeting Turkish interests. There are currently 366 Turkish firms registered with Iraqi trade ministry. Turkish economy ministry announced last week that Iraq had resumed registration process.

In July, the Iraqi Civilian Aviation Center closed its air space to all flights due to a radar failure, and three Turkish Airlines (THY) aircraft were grounded at Arbil airport for some time.

Serhat Erkmen, an expert at the Ankara-based Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), believes the tension between Ankara and Baghdad will not subside any time soon.

"The tension between Turkey and Iraq has several parameters. Maliki never forgot Turkey's support for his competitor Ayad Allawi in the 2010 elections," said Erkmen. With Ankara's backing Allawi formed the cross-sectarian Iraqiya coalition, but it failed to beat Maliki's political bloc in the 2010 elections.

"Following the 2010 elections, relations came gradually to this point. Actually, the tensions between Iraq and Turkey are also a reflection of the conflicts between parties in Iraq," he said.