The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed denounced what he described as threats and abuses of his country's sovereignty, while the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador to request clarifications, after US President Donald Trump said that Egypt might eventually blow up the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

In his first official comment on the US President’s statements, Ahmed said, "The occasional statements about the threat of war with the aim of subjecting Ethiopia to unfair conditions are still many."

He saw this as threats and insults to the Ethiopian sovereignty that would not be fruitful, according to him, and represented "clear violations of international law."

This came in a statement issued by the Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office today, Saturday, without attributing these threats to a specific person or country.

Ahmed said that his citizens are committed to defending the sovereignty of their country in an unparalleled way, and that his country "will not succumb to any aggression" and will not fully recognize the rights existing on what he described as colonial treaties, noting that the first phase of filling the dam was completed last August.

At the same time, he affirmed Ethiopia's commitment to a peaceful solution to the issue of the Renaissance Dam on the basis of cooperation, mutual trust, non-interference in internal affairs and the principle of fair and reasonable use of resources.

He added that the negotiations with the Nile Basin countries showed great progress, and that the African Union considered the issue a sign of Africa's ability to address its own problems.

Ethiopia confirms that it completed the first phase of filling the dam reservoir last August (Reuters)

Summon the US ambassador

Meanwhile, an Ethiopian diplomatic source told Al-Jazeera that the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry summoned Michael Raynor, the US ambassador to Addis Ababa, and asked him for clarifications about Trump's statements about the Renaissance Dam bombing.

The source added that the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry informed the ambassador of its dissatisfaction with these statements, which it said may undermine the course of the negotiations taking place under the auspices of the African Union, especially since the United States is an observer member in it alongside the European Union.

The source stated that the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry will inform the ambassadors of the permanent members of the UN Security Council on the impact of these statements on continental and international peace, and African diplomatic moves will take place in this direction because these statements target all of Africa and seek to ignite war in the Nile Basin region, according to the same source. .

Trump spoke about the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam during a phone call with the leaders of Sudan and Israel on Friday, when he witnessed the announcement of the normalization of relations between the two sides.

They will blow up this dam.

"You cannot blame Egypt for feeling a little uncomfortable," the US president said, adding that it was "a very dangerous situation, because Egypt will not be able to live this way."

"They will end up blowing up the dam. I said it and say it loud and clear: They will blow up this dam."

He confirmed that he brokered an agreement to resolve the conflict, but Ethiopia, according to him, violated the agreement, which prompted him to cut off funding from it.

Trump urged Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok to persuade Ethiopia to accept the deal to settle the conflict.

Negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam have stalled over the past years, amid mutual accusations between Cairo and Addis Ababa of intransigence and a desire to impose unrealistic solutions.

Addis Ababa insists on filling the dam even if it does not reach an agreement with Cairo and Khartoum, while the latter two insist on the need to first reach a tripartite agreement on the dam on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River.