TURKEY OK'S SYRIA'S REQUEST TO DRAW WATER FROM THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000248

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2015
TAGS: SENV SY TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY OK'S SYRIA'S REQUEST TO DRAW WATER FROM THE
TIGRIS RIVER



1. (U) In addition to positive rhetoric and signing of a
trade agreement, Turkey and Syria reached symbolic agreements
on two heretofore sensitive transboundary water issues during
Prime Minster Erdogan's December 22-23 visit to Damascus.
Turkey agreed to a Syrian request to draw water from the
Tigris river to irrigate 150,000 hectares in northeast Syria,
and the two sides agreed in principle to a dam project on the
Orontes River, which runs from northwest Syria into Turkey's
Hatay province, forming the border for much of its way.

Tigris Water for Syria
--------------

2. (U) The Syrian plan calls for the construction of pumps
and pipes to transport water from the Tigris valley into the
plains of northeast Syria. According to Turkey's MFA, the
Syrians plans to pump as much as 100 cubic meters per second
during high water flow periods and only 15 cubic meters per
second in the summer when the Tigris flow is lowest. This
represents a significant draw from the Tigris, which flows on
average at about 350 cubic meters per second at the Syrian
border. The water will be pumped into a reservoir for
storage and used to irrigate 150,000 hectares.


3. (C) MFA told us that Turkish officials did not believe
Syria needed Turkey's permission to extract water from its
side of the Tigris, which forms the Turkish border in the
region, just before flowing into Iraq. Erdogan told the
Syrians that Turkey had "no objection" to this plan.
Somewhat bemused, MFA noted to us that, Syria is not taking
water from Turkey but from Iraq. The Syrians told Turkish
officials that Iraqi officials had agreed to the proposal two
years ago (during the Saddam regime). Turkish officials
emphasized that while Turkey has no current objection to the
project, the issue should be addressed at some later date by
the three states. MFA DDG Mithat Rende added that the Syrian
plan is expensive -- both for the equipment required and the
energy cost of pumping the water -- and inefficient because
of the high degree of evaporation from the reservoir and the
inefficiency of Syrian agriculture in the arid northeast of
Syria.

Orontes River Dam
--------------

4. (C) After giving his nod to the Iraqi request, Erdogan
raised the long-contentious issue of the Turkish plan to dam
the Orontes river, which runs from northwest Syria into the
Hatay province of Turkey. The dam project, designed in 1990,
would provide water to irrigate 20,000 hectares in Turkey and
10,000 hectares in Syria, help control seasonal flooding and
provide hydropower. Rende said that Syrian officials "agreed
in principle" to proceed with the project but needed to look
over the details before going forward. Rende claimed that
Syria's agreement on the Orontes is a de facto recognition of
Turkey's sovereignty over Hatay province, which Syria has
long claimed belongs to it as the lost Sanjak of
Alexandretta. Rende also pointed out that the Syrians
continue to be inconsistent in their transboundary water
policy: when it concerns the Euphrates, they insist that
they have a right to the water, but in the case of the
Orontes, with headwaters in Syria, the Syrians insist that
the waters are theirs to control.


6. (U) Baghdad Minimize Considered.
EDELMAN