On Wednesday, political analyst Qassem Al-Tamimi stated that Turkey is bound by international agreements to not interfere with the water quotas allocated to Iraq and Syria. Al-Tamimi emphasized that it is necessary for Iraq to take diplomatic action to enforce these quotas on Turkey.
Al-Tamimi urged Al-Maalouma to take immediate action towards implementing diplomatic agreements with Turkey. These agreements should ensure that Turkey adheres to the water quotas outlined in the Lausanne Agreement of 1923. The agreement stipulates that Turkey should not interfere with the amount of water that flows into Iraq and Syria without consulting them first.
He stated that there are two agreements between Iraq and Turkey: a good-neighborly agreement from 1946 and another from 1997. These agreements acknowledge that the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are international rivers, not just cross-border ones.
He mentioned that Iraq can globalize the issue of water and Turkey’s insufficient quotas according to the previous agreements.
He stated that Baghdad would be responsible for making all decisions, and Ankara would have to comply with international decisions. However, resolving the matter will require diplomatic action from Iraq.
