BAGHDAD — Iraqi Water Resources Minister Aoun Dhiab Abdullah has stated that Turkey is not complying with the water shares agreed upon between the two countries. Amid Turkey’s failure to uphold Iraq’s water allocations, the Minister stressed that Turkey must adhere to the previously agreed-upon water shares. He noted that the current water inflows from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers fall far short of demand, endangering Iraq’s water security.
In press statements, the Iraqi minister declared that the total water flow into Iraq from the two lifeline rivers currently stands at only 353 cubic meters per second, significantly below the actual requirement of 600 cubic meters per second (300 cubic meters per second for each river). He mentioned that a recent agreement with Turkey led to an increase in the Tigris River’s flow to 212 cubic meters per second, up from 114. However, he stated that this amount remains inadequate.
The minister also pointed out that while Syria receives 370 cubic meters per second from Turkey, only 141 cubic meters per second reach Iraq from the Syrian border, far below the agreed-upon share of 58% of Turkey’s water releases into the Euphrates. He urged Turkey to comply with the previously agreed-upon flow rates, which are set at 420 cubic meters per second for July and August, and also warned that continued shortages would negatively impact Iraq’s water security.
It is worth noting that the water problem, or, to put it more accurately, the water crisis between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, has been ongoing for decades with no real prospect of a solution. The crisis has been exacerbated by Turkey’s construction of numerous dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and even their tributaries, part in an attempt to hold leverage over Syria and Iraq. According to Iraqi officials, Turkey has stipulated that Turkish companies undertake the construction of Iraqi dams in order to increase water flow into the two rivers.