Today, Wednesday, an Ethiopian official considered that the second mobilization of the Renaissance Dam removed the confusion and confirmed his country's commitment not to harm the downstream countries, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi renewed his country's adherence to its historical rights in the Nile waters.
A member of the Ethiopian delegation to the Renaissance Dam negotiations, Yilma Seleshi, said in an interview with the Ethiopian News Agency that the Renaissance Dam is about to be completed and that it has completed more than 80% of the total construction.
Seleshi added that the second filling of the Renaissance Dam removed all speculations about the impact of the dam on the downstream countries, and that he confirmed Addis Ababa's commitment to completing the dam without harming the downstream countries.
The Ethiopian official urged the peoples of Sudan and Egypt to accept the fact that the second filling of the dam did not cause any major harm to their two countries, but rather that it would bring many benefits to the downstream countries in particular and the entire region, he said.
In a meeting with the Special Representative of the European Union, Anita Weber, in Addis Ababa yesterday, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, called on the European Union to take a neutral position, as an observer of the negotiating process.
Mekonnen also said that the second filling of the dam took place in accordance with the Declaration of Principles, and during the rainy season, without causing tangible harm to the downstream countries.
Egypt's position
On the other hand, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said during a telephone conversation with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he affirms Egypt's firm position to adhere to its historical rights in the Nile waters and to preserve Egypt's water security now and in the future, as he put it.
Al-Sisi also stressed the need for the international community to assume its responsibility to seriously advance the negotiation process “with real political will,” in order to reach a comprehensive, just and legally binding agreement to fill and operate the Renaissance Dam.
In turn, the British Prime Minister made clear his support for efforts to resume the negotiation process in order to reach a just solution to the crisis.
Sudan's position
This comes after Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok stressed in a televised speech today the need to reach a binding legal agreement on the Renaissance Dam in line with international law, and called for a move away from "the unilateral will."
In turn, the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation said that it rejects unilateral measures by Ethiopia;
She stressed that it was not too late to reach an agreement on the Renaissance Dam crisis.
The Chief of Staff of the Sudanese Army, Muhammad Othman Al-Hussein, also performed the Eid prayer in the border areas with Ethiopia, which is witnessing a conflict between the two countries, and said that these areas "restored security and stability after their liberation and recovery."
On Monday, Ethiopia announced the end of the second phase of filling the Renaissance Dam, and attributed the speedy completion of the process to the heavy rains that fell on the Ethiopian plateau.
Ethiopia confirmed that it had stored the targeted quantities at this stage, but Egypt and Sudan said that the level of current construction of the Renaissance Dam does not allow storing the quantities that were specified in advance, which are 13 billion cubic meters of water.