France's delegate to the United Nations, Nicolas de Riviere, said Thursday that "the UN Security Council will likely meet next week to discuss the dispute between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile."

Egypt had called for an urgent session of the UN Security Council on the Renaissance Dam, and warned of serious repercussions for what it described as prevarication and Ethiopian unilateral measures, while the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that the army's exit from the Tigray region comes to protect the dam from external threats.

De Riviere, President of the Council for the month of July, added that the Renaissance Dam is an issue between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, and talks must resume between them, and what we can do is invite the three countries to return to the negotiating table.

He added, "I do not think that the council has the experience to determine the amount of water that each country should have, this matter is outside the scope and capacity of the Security Council."

Egyptian request

In a letter to the Security Council, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that the situation constitutes an imminent threat to international peace and security, and requires immediate consideration by the Council.

She explained - in the letter she sent on the 25th of last month, and revealed its content on Thursday - that after 10 years of negotiations, the issue has developed into a situation that is currently causing international friction.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry urged the Security Council to consider appropriate measures to ensure a fair solution to the crisis.

For his part, Omar Al-Farouq Sayed Kamel, the official spokesman for the Sudanese negotiating team on the Renaissance Dam, said that the Ethiopian side’s claim that the two downstream countries had aborted previous negotiation rounds is a talk that covers the facts.

In response to the Ethiopian Foreign Minister's letter to the UN Security Council, Sayed Kamel said that it was Addis Ababa that sought to obstruct reaching a binding agreement, sometimes by intransigence and buying time, and at other times by making impossible demands.

He added that the Ethiopian Foreign Minister had nothing to convince the Security Council except the allegations, and that the Ethiopian government tried, through its letter to the Council, to evade any responsibility or obligation towards filling and operating the Renaissance Dam.

Ethiopian rejection

On the other hand, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that referring the file of the Renaissance Dam to the Security Council contradicts the United Nations Charter invoked by Egypt and Sudan, adding that differences over the Renaissance Dam can be resolved within the framework of the ongoing negotiations.

In the same context, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said that the withdrawal of the Ethiopian army from the Tigray region comes within the framework of addressing what he called external threats targeting the Renaissance Dam.

Mufti added - during a press conference - that the Ethiopian government decided to direct its efforts towards securing the Renaissance Dam, pointing out that there are external movements aimed at obstructing the second filling of the dam.

Ethiopia pins its hopes for development and power generation on the Renaissance Dam, while Sudan is concerned about the flow of water to its dams, and Egypt fears it will affect its water supply.

Addis Ababa says it will start the second filling of the dam's reservoir after this summer's monsoon rains, a move Sudan and Egypt oppose and demand a binding agreement on filling and operating the multi-billion dollar dam.

While Cairo insists on first reaching a tripartite agreement to ensure the continued flow of its annual share of the Nile waters, Khartoum showed a few days ago a conditional willingness to accept a proposal for a “partial agreement” from Ethiopia regarding the second filling of the dam.