Turkey increases water flow to drought-hit Iraq

Turkey started to release more water from its dams along the Euphrates in order to help its neighbor Iraq, which is facing drought. An Iraqi delegation appealed for help last week, drawing attention to the plight of local farmers. In response, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that Turkey would allow as much water as possible to flow into neighboring Iraq and Syria. Following Iraqi requests, Turkey yesterday confirmed that it had opened dams on the Euphrates to allow more water to flow into Iraq to help the neighboring country cope with drought. An Iraqi delegation led by Saleh al-Mutlaq, leader of a Sunni-Arab bloc in parliament, held meetings with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to request the release of more water from the Euphrates, the region’s largest river. Reportedly, al-Mutlaq informed Gul and Erdogan on the impact of drought. "The Iraqi farmers were in a very difficult situation," he said. Two days after the delegation’s meetings in Ankara, the issue was also discussed yesterday in Damascus between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Iraq, Davutoglu and Hosyhar Zebari on the sidelines of the 36th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). "We had a wet fall, especially in the last 15 days. We’ll give as much water as possible to our Iraqi and Syrian friends," Davutoglu told reporters. For his part, Zebari said that Iraqi agriculture needed more water, adding, "Turkey has made an important decision on the water. Water flow will be provided soon. A plenty of water from Turkey’s Euphrates will meet a great amount of Iraq and Syria’s needs." The regions’ two main water sources, the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, start in Turkey and pass through the downstream countries of Syria and Iraq.