Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Selecli Baqli has retracted his statements confirming that his country has started filling the Renaissance Dam, while Washington has renewed its support for a fair and equitable agreement on filling and operating the dam, in a way that balances the interests of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Baqli said that his statements made earlier on Wednesday to the Ethiopian National Television (official) were referring to the "correctness of the satellite imagery of the dam," while denying that Addis Ababa "had already started filling operations."

He added that "the images reflect the heavy rain and its great flow, as the rate of rain flow to the lake was higher than the rate of water exit from it," according to the Associated Press.

Earlier in the day, Ethiopian National TV quoted Baqli as saying that "the construction and filling of the Renaissance Dam is going hand in hand."

Baqli also confirmed the authenticity of the newly published satellite imagery of the dam and its fullness in water, but without specifying its source.

The Ethiopian minister's statements caused a media confusion, which led him to retract some of his statements and clarify the ambiguous ones.

According to Baqali, “The construction works of the dam have enabled it to start filling. This stage of the initial storage process allows 4.9 billion cubic meters out of 74 billion cubic meters, which is the total capacity of the lake behind the dam.”

A request for clarification

For his part, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Cairo requested an urgent official clarification from the Ethiopian government regarding the correctness of starting filling the reservoir of the Renaissance Dam.

Egyptian media reported that Cairo was considering asylum in the Security Council after Ethiopia announced the start of filling the Renaissance Dam.

In Sudan, the government said on Wednesday that water levels in the Blue Nile had fallen by about 90 million cubic meters per day, after Ethiopia had started filling the huge Renaissance Dam reservoir.

The Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said in a statement, "It was evident through the flow meters in the Dimim border station with Ethiopia that there is a decline in water levels, equivalent to 90 million cubic meters per day, which confirms the closing of the gates of the Renaissance Dam."

The ministry added in the statement that Sudan rejects "any unilateral measures taken by any party, especially with the continuation of efforts" for negotiations between the two countries and Egypt.

This development comes after Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan failed to reach agreement in a new round of African Union-sponsored talks on regulating the flow of water from the giant dam.

In the same context, the US State Department spokesman said to the island that the United States supports a just and fair agreement on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam in a way that balances the interests of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

He added that constructive dialogue and cooperation paves the way to success, stressing Washington's commitment to the three countries until a final agreement is reached.

Trump enters

The State Department spokesman also praised the recent talks led by the Sudanese, and said it was an attempt in good faith to find a solution acceptable to all parties.

The US Bloomberg website said earlier about US mediation to resolve the crisis, that US President Donald Trump's attempt failed to achieve a breakthrough to resolve a long-standing dispute over the dam.

The website added that Trump agreed last September to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s request to mediate in the conflict with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam.

According to Bloomberg, Trump's praise of the Egyptian president publicly as his "favorite dictator" has sent a signal to African leaders that the United States will not be an honest broker.

The site mentioned how South African President Cyril Ramafuza spoke lightly of Trump's involvement in the Renaissance Dam crisis.

According to the site, Ramavoza said that the American president might need to visit Africa to see things in person, but he would not.