CAIRO (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Iraq on Monday accused Turkey of obstructing a tripartite water-sharing agreement that would include neighboring Syria, an official Iraqi newspaper reported on Monday.
Nabdh al-Shabab, a weekly newspaper chaired by Odai Hussein, the elder son of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, was quoted by news agencies as reporting that a deal between Damascus and Baghdad over sharing the waters of the Euphrates River had been recently reached and that Ankara remained adamant in joining the pact.
''Irrigation Minister Mohamoud Diyab al-Ahmed has announced that Iraq and Syria have reached an agreement on sharing waters of the Euphrates,'' the paper said, reporting that Syrian Irrigation Minister Taha al-Atrash would visit Baghdad in the near future to sign the agreement.
Ahmed added that Turkey was standing in the way of reaching an agreement between the three countries splitting the waters of the river.
''The Turkish side is still stubborn [towards reaching] a solution to the water issue,'' he said.
Iraq and Syria largely differ on their respective irrigation and drinking water needs from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, both of which originate in Turkey. The Euphrates passes through Syria before going through Iraq.
Baghdad and Damascus have often complained that Ankara ignores international agreements and regulations on the use of shared waterways. They also blame Turkey's extensive dam network on both rivers for water shortages. Ankara denies the accusations and blames rainfall for the scarcity.
Iraq has protested Turkish water projects since 1996 when Ankara announced a $1.62 billion plan for a fourth dam on the Euphrates, stating they want to produce power and irrigation water for huge areas in southeast Turkey.
Turkey and Syria signed a provisional agreement in 1987 under which Turkey allows the flow of 500 cubic meters of water per second to Syria. The Syrian government has called for making the agreement permanent.
In September, Turkey announced that it would not be able to fulfill its obligations this year because of water shortages and a drought. Syria was the first victim of the decision, stating that it has only been getting one third of its normal flow.
The Turks charge that its Arab neighbors waste far too much of their water sources, maintaining that there is enough water for everyone if the two other countries adopt more austere water management programs.
Water occasionally tops the region's political agenda as Western analysts report that the Middle East’s next war will likely be over the natural resource.
