Ethiopia accuses Egypt of thwarting the Renaissance Dam negotiations

Ethiopia has accused Egypt of thwarting the Renaissance Dam negotiations. A foreign ministry statement broadcast on Ethiopian state television said the failure of the negotiations was due to Egypt's adherence to a predetermined plan to block the progress of the technical committee.

Ethiopian television confirmed Addis Ababa's rejection of an Egyptian invitation to mediate a third party in the negotiations, saying that this is a denial of the progress made, and a violation of the Declaration of Principles signed by Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt in 2015.

According to Ethiopian television, Ethiopia has adhered to the principle of fair use of the Nile water, without harming any of its basin countries.

He reiterated that Ethiopia had not recognized any previous Nile water distribution treaty of which it was not a part.

The Ethiopian television that the Egyptian practices contrary to the wishes of Ethiopia and Sudan, and negatively affect the sustainable cooperation between the parties, and Ethiopia sees in these practices undermine the great opportunities for technical dialogue between the three countries; and disrupt the spirit of positive cooperation.

Impasse
The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources announced Saturday - after a meeting of ministers of water resources from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in the Sudanese capital Khartoum - that the negotiations of the Renaissance Dam reached a dead end as a result of the hardening of the Ethiopian side, and rejected all proposals that take into account the interests of Egypt's water.

In contrast, Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Salshi Baql said the Renaissance Dam negotiations had not reached a dead end.

The Ethiopian minister said that his country refuses to mediate from any side, and that negotiations will continue between the three countries to reach an agreement, and confirmed his government's refusal to provide any guarantees under Egyptian conditions for the flow of the waters of the Nile.

Al Jazeera Net correspondent in Khartoum Ahmed Fadl said that Sudan and Ethiopia rejected an Egyptian proposal to enter a fourth party as a mediator in the tripartite talks.

Later, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that "the Egyptian state with all its institutions is committed to protecting Egyptian water rights in the Nile waters." Sisi wrote on Twitter that Egypt continues to "take the necessary measures at the political level, and within the limits of international law, to protect these rights, and the eternal Nile will continue to strongly link the south with the north of history and geography."

Earlier on Saturday, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement that it looked forward to the United States playing an active role, especially in light of the deadlocked negotiations between the three countries.

She stressed that the negotiations did not lead to any tangible progress, reflecting the need for an effective international role to overcome the current stalemate in the negotiations, and to bridge the views between the three countries and reach a fair and balanced agreement, and stressed its openness to every international mediation effort to reach the desired agreement .

The $ 4 billion Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam was announced in 2011 and was designed to be the cornerstone of Ethiopia's bid to become Africa's largest energy exporter, generating electricity of more than 6,000 megawatts.

The dam carries economic benefits to Ethiopia and Sudan, but Egypt fears that it will limit already limited supplies of the Nile, which uses its water for drinking, agriculture and industry, where Egypt depends on the Nile for 90% of the water.