Both Egypt and Sudan announced the suspension of their participation in the current round of the Renaissance Dam negotiations in order to conduct internal consultations on the proposal made by the Ethiopian delegation regarding the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam.

This decision comes after a meeting between the technical and legal committees of the three countries, which are concerned with building the Renaissance Dam, in the presence of observers from the United States and the European and African Unions.

The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said, "The Ethiopian proposal does not include mandatory agreement or a legal mechanism to settle disputes."

"Just before the meeting was held, the Ethiopian Minister of Water addressed a letter to his counterparts in Egypt and Sudan, accompanied by a draft guidelines and rules for filling the Renaissance Dam that do not include any operating rules or any elements that reflect the legal mandatory of the agreement, in addition to the absence of a legal mechanism to settle disputes. ".

For its part, the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation said, "Ethiopia's recent position raises new concerns about the course of the Renaissance Dam negotiations."

She stressed "the seriousness of the risks that the dam represents to Sudan and its people, including environmental and social risks, and the safety of millions of residents residing on the banks of the Blue Nile, which reinforces the need to reach a comprehensive agreement covering both filling and operating sides."

In contrast, the Ethiopian Ministry of Irrigation confirmed that Egypt and Sudan requested to postpone the meeting to study the guidelines and rules for filling the Renaissance Dam submitted by Addis Ababa.

It was not possible to obtain an immediate comment from Addis Ababa, but it has repeatedly stressed that it wants to reach an agreement with the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) without damaging their interests despite the recent start of filling the dam.

On Monday, Egypt and Sudan, in the second meeting of the negotiations, warned of the repercussions of the unilateral filling of the Renaissance Dam, calling for the speedy conclusion of a binding agreement on filling and operating the dam.

On July 21, the African Union held a mini-summit, with the participation of the three countries, nearly a week after the end of negotiations sponsored by the Union for about ten days, without agreement, and the summit resulted in the call again for new tripartite negotiations.

And criticized Egypt and Sudan in the first meeting, which was recently started filling the Renaissance Dam single, which was carried out by Ethiopia.

Since 2011, the three countries have been negotiating to reach an agreement on filling and operating the dam, but despite the passage of these years they have failed to reach an agreement.

Last July, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed said that his country "has already achieved its first year goal of filling the reservoir thanks to the heavy rainy season."

The Nahda Dam - located about 15 km from the Ethiopian border with Sudan on the Blue Nile - has become a major point of contention between the three countries. Egypt fears that the $ 4 billion project will lead to a shortage of water flow, while Sudan is concerned about the dam's safety.

The Blue Nile is a tributary of the Nile, on which Egypt's 100 million population depends on 90% of the running water.