US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan urged the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to cooperate to resolve their disputes over the Renaissance Dam, while Addis Ababa confirmed that it adheres to the second mobilization of the dam despite the pressures.
In a statement, Sullivan affirmed his country's readiness to work with its allies and partners to promote common peace and prosperity throughout the Horn of Africa.
"The work of the US special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, will depend on the continued US efforts to address urgent crises," he said.
The US Secretary of State announced the appointment of former diplomat Jeffrey Feltman as US envoy to the Horn of Africa.
A US State Department statement quoted Blinken's concern about the renewed conflict in the Ethiopian Tigray region, in addition to the escalation of tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan and the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
Ethiopian insistence
In a related context, Ethiopia accused what it said were internal and external forces of working to plunge the country into conflicts and chaos.
The Ethiopian National Security Council announced in a statement today, Saturday, that Addis Ababa will carry out the second mobilization of the Renaissance Dam as scheduled, and the general elections will be held on time despite what it described as the conspiracies and pressures that are being exerted on it.
Addis Ababa stressed that it is proceeding with the second mobilization of the Renaissance Dam Lake on the Blue Nile between July and August, confirming its rejection of the Egyptian and Sudanese demands that the second mobilization process not take place until after reaching a binding agreement between the three countries directly concerned with the dam crisis.
Earlier, Addis Ababa rejected a Sudanese proposal to hold a meeting that would include the prime ministers of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to discuss the Renaissance Dam crisis. Before that, it had rejected Cairo and Khartoum’s request to expand international mediation to include - in addition to the European Union - the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. .
Sudanese accusations
On the other hand, Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Yasser Abbas, said on Friday that the African Union is "biased to some extent with Ethiopia on the issue of the Renaissance Dam."
The minister stated, in a statement, that the African Union did not play its leading role in the Renaissance Dam crisis, but rather it was satisfied with the role of observer only.
He pointed out that Ethiopia rejected Sudan's proposal for the Quartet mediation, while Egypt agreed to it, and also rejected Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok's invitation for a tripartite summit of the heads of the three countries.
And he considered that Ethiopia was evading to reach an agreement and was working to buy time, to make the second filling of the dam a fait accompli, stressing that Sudan had developed several scenarios and some technical, legal and political plans if the second filling took place without a binding legal agreement.
He continued, "If the second filling is completed without an agreement, we have legal teams working with the help of some international law firms to file a lawsuit against the Italian executing company and against the Ethiopian government, to compensate for the damages that will be caused to Sudan."
According to Abbas, Khartoum is also studying various other options, including resorting to the International Court of Justice, human rights courts and the COMESA court (the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa).
It was not possible to obtain immediate comment from the African Union and Ethiopia regarding the statement of the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources.
Addis Ababa insists on a second filling of the dam with water, next July, even if no agreement is reached, while Egypt and Sudan adhere to first reaching a tripartite agreement that preserves their water facilities and ensures the continued flow of their annual share of the Nile water.