Israeli weapons in exchange for Turkish water
Israel and Turkey on Tuesday finalized a unique deal that contributes to deepening their alliance for a long future. The deal stated to exchange Israeli weapons for Turkish water for the next 20 years, at amounts estimated at 50 million cubic meters of water annually.
The deal was concluded during a meeting between the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon and the Turkish minister of energy Zaki Khaqan in Jerusalem. The two sides, however, did not reach a final agreement on the total value of the water, but a joint statement issued following the talks noted that the two sides formed a joint committee to "discuss and fulfill means of transferring the water from Turkey to Israel."
The spokesman for Sharon Ranaan Gesin said that the two issues of transporting the waters and "water alternative" were two pending points in the negotiations. He disclosed that Turkey was persistent to link a military deal, according to which Tel Aviv sells to Ankara tanks and aviation weapons technology, to the agreement on buying waters. He, however, denied press reports which said that Turkey threatened to cancel the military deal unless Israel meets its commitment to buy the water.
Gesin refused to disclose details of the military deals. He said that Israel and Turkey are linked by a "very vast and complex trade and strategic relations," which makes them interested in reaching an agreement. He added "Turkey constitutes an important part of our regional policy in general." He added, by the end, Israel has approved to buy the water at a price higher than the cost of desalinizing sea water projects, as Israel will not carry out similar projects in the coming five years at least.
Gesin said that each of the "two sides paid a price and got benefits out of the deal.
Extra amounts of waters will not damage Israel, because we are suffering a great shortage in this regard. Waters is like money in the bank, that you can use in future." Turkey, however, is considered the closest ally for Israel among the Islamic states. The two countries are linked with military cooperation agreement, that raised to concern of al neighboring Arab and Islamic states. N.