TURKEY DOES NOT PLAN TO INCREASE EUPHRATES WATER

UNCLAS ANKARA 001012

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAGR IZ PREL SENV SY TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY DOES NOT PLAN TO INCREASE EUPHRATES WATER
FLOW

REF: A. 2005 DAMASCUS 927

B. 2204 ANKARA 1804

Sensitive But Unclassified


1. (SBU) Turkey has no plans to increase the release of
water from its dams along the Euphrates, according to Mithat
Rende, MFA DG for Energy, Environment and Transboundary
Water. He said Turkey plans to maintain the normal average
flow for this time of year of about 750 cubic meters/second.
He said any increase experienced in Syria was a short term
change. He was surprised by the report (ref a) that the
Euphrates river was rising in Syria because two Syrian
diplomats met with him a day earlier (February 23) to
complain that Turkey was not releasing enough water.


2. Rende assured that Turkey would inform Syria if it plans
to significantly increase the flow. He added that a repeat
of last March's release of 2,500 cubic meters/second
following a sudden melting of Turkey's snow base was unlikely
to happen this year (ref b). He said that precipitation in
Turkey was 25 % below normal, leading to fears that Turkey
might experience a mild drought in 2005.

Baghdad Minimize Considered.

EDELMAN