A River Under Mediterranean: Reflections on Turkey’s Water Transfer to Cyprus

The last segment of the pipeline connecting Cyprus to Anatolia after some million years since it was separated physically from the Asia Minor has put into place in August 2015. Apart from this symbolic importance, the water transfer from Turkey to Cyprus will have significant ramifications in social, political and economic aspects of life of the whole Cyprus and in the wider neighborhood of the island. The first drops of water through the undersea “river” are expected to flow later this month. This policy brief will evaluate the project’s fundamental specifications as well as the effect of the project on the future of the Cyprus issue. This policy brief argues that the water transfer project will have substantial impact on various aspects of life in Cyprus and the region at large. 75 million cubicmeters of water has a potential to transform the whole economy of Northern Cyprus, and setting of relations in the Eastern Mediterranean.