Perhaps this is one of the rare times when statements by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi are widely supported by a wide spectrum of Egyptians, including supporters and opponents, especially as it concerns the Nile River, the lifeblood and main source of water in Egypt.

In an unprecedented statement, Sisi threatened an unimaginable response that would reverberate in the region if Egypt's water supplies were affected by the dam, which Ethiopia is building on the course of the Blue Nile.

Al-Sisi said, during his visit to the Suez Canal, Tuesday, "We do not threaten anyone, but no one can take a drop of water from Egypt, otherwise the region will witness a state of instability that no one imagines," explaining that he has never spoken in this tone, and that he does not threaten ;

But, "Violating the water of Egypt is a red line ... and whoever wants to be tested, let him try," he said.

But Sisi returned and pledged the whole issue to the necessity of reaching an agreement, and said that a binding legal agreement must be reached to mobilize and operate the Renaissance Dam, noting that "negotiation is our choice."

A new angry tone from # Sisi coincided with the arrival of negotiations #Dam_Annahda to a dead end and the Ethiopian side's insistence on imposing a fait accompli policy pic.twitter.com/90fUVMnhwx

- Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) March 30, 2021

The statements of the Egyptian President in this tone, which he himself admitted that he uses for the first time, indicate that Egypt has for the first time abandoned its calm and diplomatic language, which it has committed for years to the Renaissance Dam crisis, in order to contain the Ethiopian policy that accuses it of intransigence and militancy.

Exactly a week ago, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, stressed that the second filling of the Renaissance Dam will take place on time when the rainy season is next July.

However, he said in a speech to Parliament, "We do not wish to harm the water interests of Egypt and Sudan."

And if Egypt is the "gift of the Nile" as its sons say behind the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, that is because it depends on this river, which is among the longest in the world, to obtain about 97% of its drinking and irrigation water needs, and sees the dam as a threat to it, while Ethiopia says it is She wants to take advantage of the water resources on her land to achieve sustainable development.

Dr..

Naglaa Merhi, expert in African affairs: Sisi’s statements are fiery and we are facing the first water war in the world # Renaissance Dam # Ethiopia # Egypt # Sudan pic.twitter.com/hBz6Y8IhZ2

- Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) March 30, 2021

These statements were considered by observers who spoke to Al-Jazeera Net that they would not have been issued as well were it not for the recent Egyptian-Sudanese rapprochement at the military, security, political and economic levels, and their agreement on a single vision regarding the negotiations of the Renaissance Dam.

Rather, the two countries (Egypt and Sudan) went further in their official statements, stressing repeatedly that they face a common fate and an existential issue, describing the crisis as a matter of life or death.

The leaders and officials of the two countries have alternated intensively during the current month.

With the aim of strengthening military, political and economic cooperation, and crystallizing a common unified position expressed during Sisi's visit to Khartoum, and his meeting with officials there, "rejecting any unilateral measures aimed at imposing the status quo and monopolizing the resources of the Blue Nile."

On more than one occasion;

The two sides affirmed their adherence to Khartoum’s proposal to form an international quadripartite committee led by the current president of the African Union (the Democratic Republic of the Congo), which includes the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, to mediate and launch negotiations at the earliest possible opportunity.

In a previous interview with the Egyptian newspaper "Al-Shorouk" (in particular), the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation, Yasser Abbas, warned that the failure of the negotiation efforts before the second filling would push his country to defend its national security through all legitimate means, which are guaranteed by international laws.

Intensification of coordination between Sudan and Egypt begins in a race against time before Ethiopia embarks on the second mobilization of the Renaissance Dam .. Will the issue be resolved amicably?


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Report: Ziad Barakat # Harvest pic.twitter.com/KK31w5Ptc8

- Al Jazeera Egypt (@AJA_Egypt) March 12, 2021

Last breath

A member of the Egyptian National Committee for the Study of the Impacts of the Renaissance Dam previously, Mohamed Mohieldin, believes that Sisi's statements represent a "qualitative leap" in redirecting the course of the crisis.

And whether the first threats of its kind were a message to the interior, he confirmed in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that there is nothing on the issue of water that we can call statements in order to "flirt" with the inside;

Because this is an existential issue, no Egyptian president or institution can ignore the danger, and this is a moment of national alignment.

Muhyiddin stressed, however, that it is not in Egypt’s interest now to take any military action. “There are still international efforts exerted to resume negotiations, and I imagine that all parties will sit down to negotiate; however, Addis Ababa will return to stalling, but the time for this procrastination will not take place. It will be long, because it wants to fill in next July. "

On the Ethiopian side, some considered that Sisi's statements were merely a message to the Egyptian interior and not to Ethiopia, in order to absorb the congestion and anger of the Egyptian people due to the aggravation of tribulations and crises against them.

And the Ethiopian political analyst, Muhammad Al-Arousi, went to this direction during statements to Al-Jazeera Mubasher, in which he considered that Sisi's words were not directed at Ethiopian officials.

Rather, it seems that it is directed at the Egyptian people, who have suffered from crises, as he described them.

In response to Al-Sisi's statements ...


Ethiopian political analyst Mohamed Al-Arousi: Al-Sisi's words are not directed at Ethiopian officials, but rather it appears to be directed at the Egyptian people who have suffered from crises pic.twitter.com/WK2cyqZh2R

- Al Jazeera Mubasher (@ajmubasher) March 30, 2021

Al-Sisi's recent threats came as a reminder of the statements of former US President Donald Trump, in which he warned that Egypt might "bomb the Renaissance Dam" if the pending issues about it were not resolved.

On 23 October, Trump harshly criticized Ethiopia for its "hard-line" position on the negotiations, saying, "The situation is very dangerous, and that Egypt cannot continue in this way, and the dam will end up blowing up."

Double message

However, the deputy head of the Democratic Front Party, Magdy Hamdan, believes that Sisi's threats contain a double message, saying, “There may be a sense from the state apparatus that a large part of the citizens supporting the president and the government are disbanded from this loyalty due to the weakness of the Egyptian position, which prompted the president To get out of these statements that are the strongest. "

He added to Al-Jazeera Net, "I think as long as the president’s speech is that matters in the region will change if Ethiopia does not respond to reaching an agreement that is binding on all before the second filling of the dam, so there is a decisive step from the Egyptian leadership that I think is to strike this dam."

And whether there is a relationship between Sisi's statements and the recent Egyptian-Sudanese rapprochement, Hamdan stressed that conditions are ripe between Cairo and Khartoum to agree on ways to confront the crisis and put an end to it, especially with Ethiopia's attempts to unilaterally decide.

Sisi's swift and decisive threats or statements received broad support from supporters and opponents, and some described it as the first serious Egyptian statement about the crisis, although it came too late, and others emphasized that Egypt has the right to defend itself by all means.

I fully welcome President Sisi's statements about the Renaissance Dam, which is a natural response to the Ethiopian threats that it will fill the second filling of the dam reservoir, regardless of whether an agreement is reached or not, as these threats constitute a direct aggression against Egypt's water rights.

As for the president's statements, they are part of the legitimate self-defense

- Hassan Nafaa (@hassanafaa) March 30, 2021

President # El-Sisi: No one can take a drop of water from the right of # Egypt .. Violating our right to water is a red line.


The strongest message addressed to # Ethiopia and the international community regarding the Renaissance Dam ... is a message that the Egyptians have been waiting for.

pic.twitter.com/ftoiibyOUR

- Amr Abdel Hamid (@amroabdelhamid) March 30, 2021