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Israel-Turkey strike 20-year water deal
AP ^
| 8/6/2002
| N/A
Posted on 08/06/2002 7:21:33 PM PDT by a_Turk
JERUSALEM - Israel agreed Tuesday to buy 50 million cubic meters (1.75 billion cubic feet) of water from Turkey every year for the next 20 years to try to solve its water shortage and ensure the success of an arms deal, Israeli officials said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ( news - web sites) and Turkey's Energy Minister Zeki Cakan reached the deal at a meeting in Jerusalem. The final price hasn't been reached, but a joint committee was set up "to discuss and finalize the issue of water transportation from Turkey to Israel," said a joint statement released after the talks.
Transporting the water and payment have been sticking points in the negotiations, said Raanan Gissin, an official in Sharon's office. An arms deal with Turkey, in which it agreed to buy Israeli tanks and air force technology, was also an issue, he added.
Israel's relationship with the large Islamic country is important to the Jewish state, especially amid 22 months of fighting with the Palestinians, which has caused tension in the Middle East and strained Israel's ties with Egypt and Jordan, with which it has signed peace treaties.
In the barren Middle East, water is a strategic issue as well as one of survival. Turkey is one of the few countries in the area with water reserves and sales of the precious commodity could boost its position as a regional power and bring in tens of millions of dollars in badly needed hard currency.
Turkey tied the arms deal to the water agreement, Gissin said, but denied media reports that it had threatened to cancel the military treaty if Israel did not go through with its promise to purchase water. He refused to detail the size of the arms deal.
Israel and Turkey have a "very large, complex strategic and commercial relationship" so both were interested in reaching an agreement, Gissin said. "Turkey is an important part of our overall regional policy," he added.
In the end, Israel agreed to buy water at a higher price than it would have cost to desalinate, Gissin said, adding that Israel will not have desalination facilities for at least another five years.
"There's costs and benefits on both sides of this. Water, additional water, will never hurt Israel because we are at a very grave shortage," Gissin said. "Water is like money in the bank. You can use it in the future."
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: israel; turkey; water
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The Manavgat River.
1
posted on
08/06/2002 7:21:33 PM PDT
by
a_Turk
To: Shermy; Nogbad; Turk2; LJLucido; He Rides A White Horse; Fiddlstix; Torie; MHGinTN; ...
ping!
2
posted on
08/06/2002 7:22:17 PM PDT
by
a_Turk
To: a_Turk
Suuuuuu!
To: a_Turk
Everything was pretty good in the middle east when Turkey was running the place. Any chance you guys would take it back (with an apology from England and France, of course).
To: stop_fascism
There's that issue of the language barrier (Turkish vs Arabic) which makes it extremely difficult to imagine a return to the old Ottoman boundaries :)
5
posted on
08/06/2002 8:03:50 PM PDT
by
a_Turk
To: a_Turk
Good deal for both. Do you think they will build a pipeline?
To: a_Turk
I can't believe that Israel is cutting a deal with "IslamoNazis".
To: hangin' chad
Turkey is not an "IslamoNazi". They are a NATO member, one of the jumping off points for our attack against IRAQ, and trades with Israel. They could be far worse.
To: Klein-Bottle
No you don't seem to understand. I have been told repeatedly here on FR that Islam is a murderous, hateful religion...that all Muslims teach their children to kill Jews...that all Muslims seek the end of Israel, etc. So I was just curious as to why Israel was entering into trade deals with these murderous suicide bombers from Turkey, a country that is 95% Muslim. (sarcasm off)
To: a_Turk
As this century moves along, water may become more important than oil was in the 20th century - and Turkey is in the catbird's seat. It can literally cut the water off for the Tigris and Euphrates. "Su"is king.
To: hangin' chad
If the Arabs had an AtaArab instead of dozens of bin-ladens, they might be ok too.
To: stop_fascism
Ok I get it...its not the "IslamoNazis" that are bad its the "AraboNazis" that are all bad...the "IslamoNazis" who are not "AraboNazis" are OK to buy water from...OK I got it.
To: a_Turk
This is actually remarkable news given some of the statements coming out of the Turkish government in the past few weeks vis-à-vis the Palestinian conflict. In addition, with action against Iraq imminent, we are told that that would inflame the passions of the Arab and/or Muslim world against the West. I wonder how the Arab states will react to the symbolism of this.
To: hangin' chad
I can't believe that Israel is cutting a deal with "IslamoNazis". Turkey is not IslamoNazis. Far from it. Maybe there are such creatures, but Turkey isn't it. Turkey is reliable good friends forever.
To: a_Turk
15
posted on
08/06/2002 9:30:48 PM PDT
by
klpt
To: stop_fascism; All
Mash here in order to get a full picture of our good friend, hangin' chad. I swear, I've never seen the word "Zionist" repeated more often in my life.
To: AmishDude
Hey dude, do you have a problem with the word "Zionist"?
Comment #18 Removed by Moderator
To: a_Turk
Thanks so much for adding the illustrations!
it ürür, kervan yürür
(the dogs may bark, but the caravan keeps rolling along!)
To: a_Turk
There's that issue of the language barrier (Turkish vs Arabic) which makes it extremely difficult to imagine a return to the old Ottoman boundaries :) If I ever have the opportunity to do business with a civilized middle-eastern country, I'll need to learn either Turkish or Hebrew! (preferably both, of course!)
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