It accused its two neighbors of trying to extend colonial treaties.. Ethiopia regrets the "politicization" of the Renaissance Dam negotiations, and Sudan is "ready" to defend its rights

Ethiopia expressed its regret at what it called the "politicization" of the tripartite negotiations on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam, while Khartoum confirmed its readiness to defend its water rights and that it was seeking a Security Council resolution and not a presidential statement.

A statement by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry indicated that the African Union was able to reach an understanding on many issues, and that it is able to address the concerns of all parties.

The statement added that the negotiating process revealed long-term challenges related to the absence of a water treaty and mechanism for the Nile Basin.

The statement reiterated Addis Ababa's commitment to a successful conclusion of the African Union negotiations, and to encourage Egypt and Sudan to negotiate in good faith.

For his part, a member of the Planning and Construction Committee of the National Council of the Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia, Talahoun Erdono, said that the binding agreement - which Egypt and Sudan want regarding the Renaissance Dam - aims to perpetuate and extend the unilateral colonial treaties that grant the downstream countries the right to monopolize the Nile waters, as he described it.

Erdono added that there is no international law that can force Ethiopia to accept a binding agreement to fill the dam, and that it must continue the process of the second phase of the initial mobilization without interruption, according to him.

He considered that the two peoples - the Egyptian and the Sudanese - would later understand that the Renaissance Dam did not have any negative impact, explaining that the volume of international pressure would greatly diminish after the completion of the second filling.

The Sudanese Security and Defense Council discusses the file

Meanwhile, Sudanese Defense Minister Lieutenant-General Yassin Ibrahim said that his country's Security and Defense Council listened to a briefing on the UN Security Council session on the Renaissance Dam.

Yassin Ibrahim added that the council discussed the practical steps necessary to preserve Sudan's rights, noting that the council decided to hold an urgent meeting of the Supreme Committee of the Renaissance Dam, and another for the Security and Defense Council, in the city of "Roseires", near the Ethiopian border, to discuss developments in this file.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that his country's institutions determine their options at the appropriate time and with poise;

Stressing that Cairo will defend the interest of its people without complacency, as he put it.

Earlier, the European Union confirmed its support for the mediation efforts led by the African Union to resolve the Renaissance Dam crisis.

EU spokesman Peter Stano said - at the conclusion of talks between Shoukry and the EU's Security and Foreign Policy Commissioner Josep Borrell - that the EU continues to consult with its international partners in this file.