Iraq to resort to International Court for its water right
ERBIL, KRG, Iraq (North Press) – On Sunday, the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources announced its latest discussions with Iran and Turkey regarding the water quota, while it threatened to resort to the International Court of Justice to obtain its water share from Iran.
“The ministry submitted a memorandum and an official letter to the higher authorities in the Cabinet, the President’s Office, the Speaker’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to file a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice in The Hague to ensure Iraq’s water rights with neighboring Iran,” the Ministry’s technical advisor, Aoun Diyab, said in a statement to the official Iraqi News Agency (INA).
“The talks with Iran did not take place because of the formation of the Iranian government and then the elections in Iraq. These reasons hindered the meeting between the two countries,” he added.
Diyab expressed his hope that a joint technical agreement would be reached.
As for Turkey, the Iraqi advisor said that the talks with Turkey led to the signing of a joint understanding paper regarding Iraq’s water share, which was approved by the Turkish government and entered into force.
He pointed out that the understanding would help in the continuation of technical discussions to determine fair and reasonable shares of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers for Iraq.
On October 14, the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources announced that the water agreement with Turkey has come into effect after being ratified by the Turkish President.