Iraqi political analyst Qasim Xerawi stated that Turkey’s water policy and construction of dams have destroyed Iraq's agricultural sector, suggesting that Iraq could apply economic pressure against Turkey to resolve the water problem.
Iraqi political analyst Qasim Xerawi spoke to Rojnews about the drought and water scarcity in Iraq.
Xerawi stated that Turkey has built more than 6 dams in Eastern Anatolia as part of the GAP project. Moreover, Turkey has most recently constructed the Ilısu dam to reduce the water resources of Syria and Iraq. “Turkey wants to destroy agriculture, particularly rice cultivation, where water is most needed. They are now importing most of these products to Iraq, but Iraq was importing them in the past.”
The Iraqi analyst also addressed the water problem, saying, “An Iraqi delegation of experts should visit Turkey. They should put pressure on Turkey in order to resolve the water problem in favour of Iraq, because Iraq could play the economy card against Turkey.”
