Turkey's foreign ministry on Thursday dismissed Iranian criticism that
Ankara's dam-building activity was responsible for drought.
"Claims that dams in
Turkey cause sand and dust storms in our geography
are far from scientific," ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a
statement.
اضافة اعلان
Tehran on Tuesday said Turkey's upstream dam-building on shared waterways
was "unacceptable", calling on its neighbour to cease such activity.
Iran has faced frequent droughts in recent years, caused in part by climate
change, as well as dam-building in neighbouring countries.
"In order to prevent sand and dust storms and to mitigate their
negative effects, each country must first do its part and take the necessary
steps towards sustainable use of water and soil resources," Bilgic
said.
"It is not a realistic approach... for the Tehran administration to
blame Turkey for such problems."
The spokesman also said Ankara believed the waters shared by Iran and Turkey
were "an element of cooperation rather than conflict" between the
neighbouring countries.
"Turkey is open to any rational and scientific cooperation with Iran
regarding this issue," he said.
Neither country is party to the 1997 United Nations Watercourses Convention
that regulates the use of transnational water resources.
Read More Region & World
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
