Iraq warns Turkey of effects of dam on water levels

Al-Sodor Bridge, over the Tigris River in Iraq, 21 April 2021 [AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images]

The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources yesterday warned Turkey that its plan to build a new dam on the Tigris River would affect Iraq’s share of the river’s waters.

Ministry spokesperson, Ali Radi, said Turkish authorities had been contacted via the Foreign Affairs Ministry to warn them of the new project’s impact on Baghdad’s share of the river’s water in terms of quantity and quality.

“Negotiations with the Turkish or Syrian sides are very important to reach understandings for the supreme goal of ensuring Iraq’s water rights,” he added.

The Tigris is a 1,750-kilometre-long river with its source in Turkey, it travels through Syria before finally reaching the Shatt Al-Arab River and the Gulf.

READ: Water ‘most strategic value’ of next century: Turkish president

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