Iran, Syria talk water

ISTANBUL, Turkey, March 23 (UPI) -- Syria and Iran called for improved relations and joint cooperation regarding water resources on the sidelines of an international forum in Istanbul.

Syrian Irrigation Minister Nader al-Bunni and Iranian Energy Minister Parviz Fattah called for bilateral measures for water at the Fifth World Water Forum, the official Syrian Arab News Agency reports.

Syria, Turkey and Iraq share the 300,000-square-mile watershed of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Turkey, however, controls the majority of the flow from both, leaving downstream Damascus struggling to use its available resources effectively.

Syria is engaged with Lebanon and Jordan to develop river resources from waterways that cross mutual boundaries.

A delegation of participants at the summit, including Syria, Lebanon and others, agreed with concerns raised by the World Wildlife Foundation on the regulation of river basins.

Leaders from a host of nations concluded that the lack of regulations "represents a major threat to international peace and to the world's energy and food security," the foundation said.

The Fifth World Water Forum closed Sunday.