ISTANBUL - Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Regional and Cross Border Waters Chairman Mithat Rende said on Friday that they did not welcome third side's intervention in cross-border waters matter, adding, ''regarding this matter, we are against single type solutions and nationalist approaches.''
Speaking at a symposium on 'impacts of energy and water resources in the world and Turkey on national and international security' at the War Academies Command in Istanbul, Rende said that Turkey had many cross-border waters and Dicle (Tigris) and Firat (Euphrates) rivers which were the most important ones had water potential as much as the Niles and they constituted 30 percent of Turkey's water potential.
Mithat Rende said experts supposed that the Middle East, Central Asia and North Africa would suffer serious water shortage within next 20-25 years and water might be one of the causes of clashes in the future.
Noting that international attitude about cross-border waters had changed, Rende said that 'rights' had been the matter of discussion in the past but everybody recently started to talk about 'requirements'.
About Turkey-Syria relations, Rende said that several positive developments had happened, adding, ''environment of mutual confidence should be formed and compromise should be reached on basic principles for solution of water issue.''
Stating that there were international organizations, several countries or institutions like universities that wanted to solve those problems, Rende said, ''we do not approve of intervention of third sides in cross border waters matter. We oppose single type solutions and nationalist approaches. Each water basin has its own conditions. A solution can't be reached before attributing importance to those conditions. The water problem can't be solved also with national approaches. We give priority to allocation of waters on basis of proportion instead of quantity. Because there may be drought in the future and river waters may reduce.''
(MS-Öª) 16.01.2004