An Iraqi Member of Parliament has accused Turkey of limiting the supply of water to Iraq for political reasons.
MP Karim Elewi of the Parliamentary Agriculture Committee said Iraqi agriculture was being damaged by the shortage of the water amount coming from Turkey, and by governmental neglect for this important sector, which ranks after the oil sector in terms of revenue.
He told All Iraq News Agency (AIN):
“There are several factors that led to deteriorating the agricultural sector most notably the shortage of water amounts coming from Turkey where it is controlling the Iraqi water flow and using this topic for political aims … The amounts of waters coming from Turkey are inadequate and do not meet the need of the irrigation.
“At the same time, there is clear negligence by the Iraqi Government to this sector through not giving it priority as it represents vital resource for the Iraqi economy.“
