Iraq blasts Turkey for not providing 'promised' extra water
Baghdad (AFP) Aug 11, 2009 – Iraq’s water minister accused Turkey on Tuesday of breaking a promise to increase water flows down the Euphrates river, saying Ankara was actually holding back on the precious commodity.
He was responding to remarks by Turkey’s visiting foreign minister that his country had fulfilled its promises and was considering a further hike. “Despite promises made by Turkish officials to provide more water to Iraq, this never happened. In fact, the flow is half the minimum that normally arrives in our country,” Latif Rashid said in a statement. “There is a risk that the very low level of water will provoke environmental damage in the Euphrates if Turkey does not increase the flow of water.” At the end of June, Turkey increased the Euphrates flow to 570 cubic metres per second to help overcome a shortage along the river from its source in Turkey down through Syria and Iraq. …
