The United Nations announced on Tuesday evening that it will contact the parties concerned with the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam file in search of a solution to the crisis, after Ethiopia's refusal to mediate four-way mediation to move the stalled negotiations for months.
Stefan Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said in a press conference that the organization continues to support the efforts of the African Union, expressing his belief that the mediation efforts (he did not specify the Quartet or the African) are very important and should move forward.
Dujarric added that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mentioned this when he spoke by phone with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and added, "We will talk with the parties and seek to move things in the right direction."
On Friday, Guterres announced during a phone call with Shukri the readiness of the United Nations to provide support and participate in a negotiation process led by an international quadripartite on the dam.
For his part, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok stressed the need to expand mediation on the Renaissance Dam file, to include the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the United States.
The Sudanese Prime Minister held a phone call with the Secretary-General of the United Nations to discuss the issue of the Renaissance Dam and the regional and local situations.
In the same context, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that his country was determined to continue negotiations on the dam, but not indefinitely.
Al-Sisi stressed the need to reach a binding legal agreement that fulfills the interests of all parties, noting that what unites the Nile countries is more than what divides them.
Resort to the Security Council
Earlier Tuesday, an informed source in the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation said that his country would have to resort to the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice if Ethiopia continued its refusal to expand the mediation circle.
He stressed that Khartoum will not back down from its request for quadripartite mediation in the Renaissance Dam negotiations, to include - besides the African Union - the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.
The Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources also said that it is preparing for all possible scenarios that may result from the unilateral mobilization of the Renaissance Dam next July, with the aim of reducing the expected negative impacts.
This came after Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said that his country adheres to negotiations sponsored by the African Union only.
Two weeks ago, Egypt announced its support for Sudan's proposal to form a quadripartite international mediation, just as the United States and the World Bank had previously mediated more than a year ago in the Renaissance Dam negotiations, but their mediation did not produce results.
Ethiopia insists on the start of the second filling of the Renaissance Dam next July, while Khartoum and Cairo adhere to first reaching a tripartite agreement, in order to preserve their annual share of the Nile water, amid stalled negotiations led by the African Union for months.