The Parliamentary Agriculture, Water, and Marshlands Committee demanded on Tuesday that the government implement a trade strategy that benefits all parties in order to secure water, accusing Turkey of maintaining its hostile attitude against Iraq.
In a statement, Hussein Ali Mardan, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, stated that the construction of dams in Turkey is a major factor in the country’s water supply being cut off from Iraq.
“Turkey’s lack of commitment to water agreements is causing a clear drought for most of the Iraqi dams,” he continued, noting out that “Iraq is currently relying on the amounts of rainwater in agricultural lands.”
“Take urgent steps to put pressure on the Turkish side to obtain Iraq’s water rights,” he said of the administration.
Rafiq Hashem Al-Salhi, a member of the Parliamentary Agriculture, Water, and Marshlands Committee, explained that Turkey’s denial of Iraq’s water share for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is a tactic used to exert pressure on Ankara because of its aspirations in the northern part of the country.
