Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has warned of negative repercussions on Egypt and Sudan if Ethiopia undertakes the implementation of the second phase of the unilateral filling of the Renaissance Dam, while the Ethiopian ambassador in Khartoum expressed his country's desire to discuss the dam and borders files in a friendly manner.
During a phone call between Shoukry and the European Union’s Supreme Coordinator for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell, the Egyptian Minister reviewed his country's position seeking to reach what he described as a fair, balanced and binding agreement on filling and operating the Renaissance Dam.
According to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Shukri discussed with Borrell the elements of the Sudanese proposal calling for developing a negotiation mechanism through the formation of an international quartet led by the Democratic Republic of the Congo - in its capacity as chair of the current session of the African Union - and the participation of the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.
The Renaissance Dam will seize 74 billion cubic meters of Nile water (communication sites)
Negotiation process
Shoukry stressed the importance that these efforts should result in the launch of a negotiation process that ends with an agreement that takes into account the interests of the three countries, and stressed the need to reach an agreement before the next flood season.
These developments come after Ethiopia announced the day before yesterday, Tuesday, that it rejected the Quartet mediation proposed by Sudan and supported by Egypt.
A spokesman for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dina Mufti, said during a press statement, which carried an escalation in the Ethiopian position on mediation in resolving the issue of the Renaissance Dam, that Addis Ababa "adheres to the negotiations sponsored by the African Union only."
Endorsement and rejection
On February 24, Egypt announced its support for Sudan's proposal, which was issued days earlier, to form a quadripartite international mediation to resolve the stalled Renaissance Dam negotiations over a period of 10 years.
Ethiopia insists on the start of the second filling of the 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.
However, the Ethiopian ambassador in Khartoum Petal Amero confirmed that his government is ready to discuss the Renaissance Dam and the borders with Sudan files in a friendly manner.
He said during a press conference in Khartoum that with regard to these two files, "we can generally say that the Ethiopian government is very serious and is very ready to address the issue in a friendly and peaceful manner."
He indicated that his country rejects accusations of supporting rebels in Sudan.