Egypt has sent a message to the African Union confirming Cairo's rejection of the unilateral Ethiopian filling of the Renaissance Dam, and Sudan has rejected the Addis Ababa proposal to reach a treaty on the waters of the Blue Nile instead of reaching a comprehensive agreement on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam.

The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said that it sent the message to South Africa, in its capacity as president of the current session of the African Union, in which it confirmed its adherence to signing a binding agreement on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and rejected what was stated in the speech of the last Ethiopian Water Minister.

She explained that this letter included a proposal contrary to the directive issued by the AU Bureau Summit on July 21, which stressed the necessity of reaching a legally binding agreement, and not just guidelines and rules on filling the Renaissance Dam.

On Tuesday, Cairo announced that it would suspend meetings on the Renaissance Dam with Addis Ababa, for internal consultations, and to discuss the Ethiopian proposal, which it says is contrary to what was previously agreed upon.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Ministry of Irrigation and Water said that Egypt and Sudan requested to postpone the dam meetings to consider the filling rules, which were submitted by Addis Ababa.

Sudanese escalation,
in turn, Sudan ascended for the first time its rhetoric towards Ethiopia, and strongly rejected its proposal to reach a treaty on the Blue Nile waters instead of a comprehensive agreement on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam, and described the Ethiopian proposal as worrying.

A statement issued by the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation stated that Minister Yasser Abbas sent, in his turn, a letter to the Minister of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation in South Africa regarding the developments in the Ethiopian position during the past hours.

The Sudanese minister pledged that Sudan would continue to participate in the African Union-led negotiations by not linking an agreement on filling and operating on the one hand and reaching a treaty on the waters of the Blue Nile on the other.

The Sudanese Minister of Irrigation considered that the Ethiopian proposal, which links the operation and filling process with a treaty on the Nile waters, represents a major development and a change in the Ethiopian position that threatens the continuity of the negotiations.

He also considered this as a violation of the Declaration of Principles signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in March 2015.

The Minister stressed the seriousness of the risks that the dam represents for Sudan and its people, including environmental and social risks, and the safety of millions of residents residing on the banks of the Blue Nile, as well as the safety of the Roseires Dam; This reinforces the need to reach a comprehensive agreement covering the filling and operating aspects.

Stalled negotiations
and the African Union held - on July 21 last - a mini-summit with the participation of the three countries, nearly a week after the end of negotiations sponsored by the Union for about 10 days without agreement, and the summit resulted in the call to resume the tripartite negotiations.

Late last month, Ethiopia announced the completion of the first stage of filling the dam reservoir unilaterally, and without coordination with Egypt and Sudan, and said that this filling came due to torrential rains, and was not a government decision.

Negotiations between the three countries have stalled over the past years, amid mutual accusations between Cairo and Addis Ababa of intransigence and the desire to impose unrealistic solutions on the dam on the Blue Nile (a tributary of the Nile).

While Addis Ababa says that it does not aim to harm the interests of Egypt and Sudan water, and that the aim of building the dam is to generate electricity in the first place.