Sudan confirmed, today, Monday, that it does not accept the imposition of a de-facto policy regarding the second filling of the Renaissance Dam, and threatens the safety of 20 million Sudanese whose lives depend on the Blue Nile, hinting at his search for alternative options.
This came in a statement by the Sudanese Cabinet after Abdullah Hamdok chaired the meeting of the Supreme Committee to follow up the file of the Renaissance Dam, with the participation of the ministers of justice, foreign affairs and irrigation, the director of the General Intelligence Service, and the head of the Military Intelligence Authority.
The meeting discussed alternative options due to the stalled tripartite negotiations alongside Egypt and Ethiopia, which were conducted in the past six months, without specifying these options.
The meeting also discussed the risks of Ethiopia starting the second filling of the dam next July without reaching an agreement, and the repercussions of the Ethiopian dam on the safety of the Rossires Dam (Sudanese on the Blue Nile and close to the Renaissance Dam) and other water facilities in the country.
On January 10, the official Sudanese News Agency reported that a six-party meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Irrigation in Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia failed to reach an acceptable formula to continue negotiations on the Renaissance Dam.
The three countries have been engaged in stalled negotiations over the dam over the past 9 years, amid mutual accusations of intransigence and an attempt to impose unrealistic solutions.
Addis Ababa insists on filling the dam even if it does not reach an agreement on it with Cairo and Khartoum, which insist on the need to first reach a tripartite agreement, to ensure that their annual share of the Nile water is not negatively affected.