Trump: Egypt May Blow Up the Renaissance Dam

US President Donald Trump criticized Ethiopia for building a huge dam on the Nile River, "the Renaissance Dam," which Egypt had intended "to blow up," he said.

Trump was speaking from the Oval Office at the White House yesterday, after announcing the agreement to normalize relations between Israel and the State of Sudan, which also fears the depletion of its water resources due to the dam.

"It is a very dangerous situation, because Egypt will not be able to live this way," Trump said during a phone conversation with the Sudanese and Israeli leaders that he had in front of journalists.

"They will end up blowing up the dam. I said it and said it loud and clear: They will blow up this dam. They have to do something."

"They should have stopped it long before it began," Trump said, expressing his regret that Egypt was experiencing internal turmoil when the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project began in 2011.

Trump agreed that Washington would play the role of mediator in the dam file.

Last September, the United States announced the suspension of part of its financial aid to Ethiopia after Addis Ababa's unilateral decision to fill the Renaissance Dam despite "lack of progress" in negotiations with Egypt and Sudan.

“I found a deal for them, but unfortunately Ethiopia violated it, and it shouldn't have done that. That was a big mistake,” Trump said.

And he added, "They will never see this money unless they abide by this agreement."

Ethiopia says the $ 4 billion project is essential for its prosperity, while Egypt relies 97 percent on the Nile for irrigation and drinking water.

During the phone call with Trump, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok praised the efforts of the US diplomacy, saying that he sought to find a "friendly solution soon" with Ethiopia and Egypt in this regard.

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