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NATURAL RESOURCES

Erdogan pledges to ease Iraq's water shortage


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani (L) during their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on March 21, 2023. (Credit: HANDOUT / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Tuesday to increase water supply from the Tigris River to drought-stricken Iraq for one month.

Baghdad accused Ankara of withholding water in dams that choked the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near their point of origin in Turkey.

The entire region is gripped by a years-long drought that has emptied water reservoirs and threatened food security for millions of people.

Erdogan told Iraq's visiting Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani that he was aware of the "urgent need for water" in Turkey's war-scarred neighbor.

Official Iraqi statistics show that the water levels of the Tigris last year dropped to just 35 percent of the average level that had been recorded over the past century.

"For one month, we have taken the decision to increase the volume of water flowing along the Tigris River," Erdogan said in a joint media appearance with Sudani.

"The issue of water will hopefully be resolved," Erdogan said.

Erdogan did not mention Turkey's dam-building projects or explain how he intended to increase the water flow.

The Turkish leader also didn't specify why the decision was only to be enacted for one month.

Security concerns 

But Erdogan's comments received a warm welcome from the Iraqi premier during his first official visit to Turkey since assuming office last October.

"I want to express my gratitude and thanks to the president from the Iraqi people," Sudani said.

Turkey's relations with its neighbor have also been strained by the presence of Kurdish insurgents from the PKK group (recognized as a terror organization by Ankara and its Western allies) in mountainous northern Iraq.

Erdogan repeated his demand for Iraq to recognize the PKK as a terror group.

Sudani said only that Iraq recognized Turkey's security concerns.

"We won't allow Iraq to be used as a launching pad for attacks on Turkey," he said.

Turkey has dozens of military facilities in northern Iraq for use in its war against the PKK.

The PKK's decades-long fight for an independent Kurdish state has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Turkey since 1984.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged Tuesday to increase water supply from the Tigris River to drought-stricken Iraq for one month.

Baghdad accused Ankara of withholding water in dams that choked the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near their point of origin in Turkey.

The entire region is gripped by a years-long drought that...