Ethiopia renews its rejection of the Quartet mediation .. Abiy Ahmed: We do not want to harm Egypt and Sudan, and we will continue building the Renaissance Dam.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed confirmed that the Renaissance Dam is a national project and that his government will continue to complete it, stressing that his country does not want to harm its neighbors, while the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry considered the proposal of the international quartet mediation on the dam to be futile.

In response to questions from parliament members, the Ethiopian Prime Minister said that the Renaissance Dam is a national project, and that his government will continue to complete it despite the pressures.

"We do not aim to harm Egypt or Sudan, and the Renaissance Dam will serve the interests of the three countries," Abe added.

On another issue, Abiy Ahmed confirmed that there are those who seek to fuel the conflict between ethnicities and nationalities in Ethiopia to destabilize the country, explaining that he made an effort with the leaders of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front for peace and not to go to war.

Abe accused the movement of attacking about 200 army camps and firing rockets at the neighboring country of Eritrea, saying that the movement has become a thing of the past.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister added that his government spent about one billion dollars for the reconstruction of the Tigray region.

For his part, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Dina Mufti, described the Quartet’s proposal regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as sterile and futile.

The Mufti reiterated his country's commitment to the talks led by the African Union, noting that the negotiations were temporarily suspended due to the transfer of power to the President of the Union.

Mufti added that it is inappropriate to call for the Quartet's proposal before the final results of the African Union-led negotiations are known.

Two days ago, the US President’s Special Envoy to Ethiopia, Senator Chris Koons, held talks with Ethiopian officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as with the President of the African Commission, Moussa Faki, in light of US concern about border tension with Sudan and the escalation of disputes between Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Cairo over the Renaissance Dam, In addition to international criticism of the Ethiopian army's operations in the Tigray region.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demiki Mekonnen said that he assured the American official of his country's commitment to the African Union's sponsorship of the Grand Renaissance Dam negotiations.

On March 9, Ethiopia rejected a Sudanese proposal that Egypt supported a month ago to form a quadripartite international mediation that includes the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Africa to solve the stalled negotiations.

Addis Ababa insists on the second filling of the dam next July, even if it does not reach an agreement on it with Cairo and Khartoum, while Egypt and Sudan insist on the need to first reach a tripartite agreement to ensure that their annual share of the Nile water is not affected.