The parties negotiating the Renaissance Dam failed to reach a final agreement, and while Egypt charged Ethiopia with the reasons for the continuing dispute, America called on the countries concerned to reach a just settlement.
Without reaching an agreement on the contentious issues, the videoconference sessions between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt over the Renaissance Dam that Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile ended on Wednesday.
The Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasser Abbas said that there are differences regarding the continuous operation of the Renaissance Dam and the details of joint work between the three countries on the extent of the binding agreement.
Abbas added that the differences focus on the mechanism for resolving disputes, and whether the agreement is related to the Renaissance Dam in itself or includes water sharing.
He said that technical issues were agreed upon by approximately 59% in negotiations related to the Renaissance Dam.
Intransigence ... a mutual accusation
on his part, Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Atti said that the Renaissance Dam negotiations that were conducted over the past period had made little progress because of the Ethiopian "intransigence".
The Egyptian minister accused Ethiopia of intransigence in the technical and legal aspects, "during the discussion of legal aspects, I refused that the three countries should conclude a binding agreement in accordance with international law, and stuck to reaching only guidelines that Ethiopia can amend individually."
The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation stated that despite the long term negotiations for nearly a decade, "Egypt has engaged in the last round of negotiations called by brotherly Sudan in good faith, in an effort to exhaust and explore all avenues available to reach a fair and balanced agreement on the Renaissance Dam."
Earlier, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Guido Andargasho accused Egypt of obstructing tripartite negotiations on the Renaissance Dam, saying that the Egyptian stubbornness has become a stumbling block in the negotiations, calling on the international community to recognize this fact and pressure Cairo.
And Andragasho added that Egypt deals in two ways, as it participates in negotiations and resorts to the UN Security Council at the same time.
America Online
Meanwhile, the US National Security Council called on the Ethiopian government to reach a just settlement of the Renaissance Dam.
The council stated in a tweet that 275 million people in eastern Africa are counting on Ethiopia to show strong leadership, which means a fair deal.
He added that the technical problems related to the dam have been solved, and it is time to reach an agreement before starting the process of filling the dam with the waters of the Nile River.
In a related context, the Ethiopian News Agency said that Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hamidati), Vice President of the Sovereign Council, arrived in Addis Ababa on a surprise visit, where he was received by senior officials.
She noted that, during his visit, the duration of which was not specified - Hamidati will hold "discussions with senior Ethiopian officials on important issues between the two countries," without further details.
Media reports stated that Hamidati will discuss with officials in Addis Ababa issues of common concern, especially the borders and the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
It is noteworthy that the Renaissance Dam - which Ethiopia built on the Blue Nile - has turned into a source of tension between the countries of the Nile River basin, where Addis Ababa considers that the dam is a necessary need for it to achieve development and electric power generation, while Egypt and Sudan see it as a threat to their water resources.