With a history of geopolitical tensions, last week’s announcement by President Gul that Turkey would double the amount of water released to Iraq from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was cautiously received in Iraq on the first visit by a Turkish head of state in over 30 years.
A key Iraqi concern, Iraq and Turkey have argued over upstream vs. downstream water rights on the Tigris and Euphrates many times in the past. This announcement and state visit may well strengthen ties between these two nations, recently under strain due to on-going tensions because of Turkish military operations in northern Iraq against Kurdish separatist groups.
Commentary by Iraqi newspaper Al-Sabah remained restrained,
Turkey must deal seriously with the water issue and be fair with Iraq because our country is the most affected by the sharing out of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Since Turkish President Gul’s announcement Iraqi Water Resources Minister Abdul-Latif Jamal Rasheed, while lamenting the state of water supplies in Iraq due to a dry winter and the presence of multiple dams on the Tigris and Euphrates, did praise Turkey’s new direction:
We have an ongoing coordination with Turkey … and it has released convincing quantities recently
As the main sources of freshwater in Iraq, Turkey’s control over the flow of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the building and management of upstream dams will continue to be a source of friction between these two nations.
Photo: Freephotosbank.com
