Water for influence: Turkey moves to ease Iraq's water shortages ahead of elections
Turkey took the step in a bid to ensure that relations with Iraq's current and future leaderships remain manageable after the vote.
As Iraq prepares for Nov. 11 parliamentary elections, Turkey has stepped up its effort to provide more water to its neighbor in a bid to ease shortages, a move aimed, according to analysts, at maintaining Ankara's influence with decision-makers in Baghdad.
Turkey’s plan to increase water flows from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers into Iraq and the resumption of oil flows from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey via pipeline highlights Ankara’s efforts to support the Iraqi government ahead of the balloting. While the measures are intended to ease public anxiety and bolster stability, Iraqi officials caution that turning bilateral water-related agreements into tangible projects has lagged, with bureaucratic hurdles and regional coordination, including with Syria, still needed.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani faces mounting public pressure, particularly in Basra, where widespread protests have erupted over persistent climate-related water shortages.
Water-sharing disputes have long complicated ties between Turkey and Iraq, representing one of the most persistent sources of tension between the two neighbors. Iraq largely blames Turkey for the shortages, pointing to dams built upstream on the Tigris and Euphrates, while Ankara argues that Iraq’s outdated water infrastructure and inefficient irrigation systems limit the effectiveness of the water it supplies through waste.
