The Sudanese government confirmed that it incurred a high economic cost to face any repercussions of the second mobilization process of the Renaissance Dam, while Ethiopia said that it could not sign a final agreement because this concept does not exist in the world.
An official source in the Sudanese government stressed to Al Jazeera that his country is not ready to bear that cost in the future.
The source said that Sudan does not object to the resumption of negotiations, provided that they are in a new methodology and within a specific time frame, with the need to expand the mediation circle to include international parties.
The Sudanese official stressed that if there is sufficient political will, only 6 months is sufficient to reach an agreement, adding that they consider Ethiopia's announcement of the completion of the second filling process according to what is planned as a mere political declaration directed to the Ethiopian interior.
He stated that their estimates of the water that was seized during this process is between 3 and 4 billion cubic meters, not 13.5 billion cubic meters as Ethiopia had intended.
He stressed that Sudan will spare no effort to reach a comprehensive and binding legal agreement that guarantees a smooth and timely flow of information about the filling and operation of the dam, takes into account the interests of all, and enables Ethiopia to benefit from the dam project.
He also stressed that the Sudanese position is based on technical data and the country's national interest.
No final agreement signed
For his part, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti stressed that it is not possible to sign a final agreement, because there is no comprehensive and final legal agreement in the world, as he put it.
As for the binding agreement, Mufti added, Ethiopia does not mind concluding a win-win agreement on filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, but we cannot sign a final agreement in the absence of a comprehensive legal agreement.
He said, "What they want in this agreement prevented us from completing any projects, and Ethiopia's position is clear in this regard from the beginning, but we can agree on mobilization."
Abi Ahmed's assurances
Earlier today, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the second mobilization of the Renaissance Dam was carried out cautiously and beneficially to reduce the flood from the direct downstream country.
Abi Ahmed sent - in a tweet on Twitter - a message to the two downstream countries: Sudan and Egypt, during which he reiterated that the Renaissance Dam will not harm them.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister described the Renaissance Dam project as a gain and a true symbol of joint growth and cooperation, and indicated that the process of second filling of the Renaissance Dam was completed on July 20.
Al-Jazeera correspondent in Addis Ababa, Hassan Razak, said that the Ethiopian Prime Minister's tweet came in Arabic, and indicated that this message of reassurance paves the way, according to observers, that the upcoming negotiations will be flexible and peaceful negotiations, given that the concerns that were raised in the Security Council, the Arab League or any forums Others, all of them are incorrect concerns, and the evidence is that the mobilization was completed.
New photos of the Renaissance Dam after the second filling (communication sites)
Ethiopia ready for deterrence
On the other hand, the commander of the Ethiopian Air Force, Yalma Merdasa, said that they are aware of the external threats surrounding the Renaissance Dam and are ready to deter any attack. Merdasa added that his forces guard the Renaissance Dam around the clock and do not miss it even for a moment.
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow sees the need to find a solution to this problem based on tripartite negotiations under the umbrella of the African Union.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press conference that her country stands at the same distance from all parties to the dispute.
She added that Russia understands the importance of this issue for the three countries, and therefore took a neutral position during the meeting of the Security Council on the eighth of this month.
Amid the stalled negotiations for months, Ethiopia on the 5th of this month notified the two countries downstream of the Nile, Egypt and Sudan, to start a second filling process of the dam with water, without reaching a tripartite agreement, which Cairo and Khartoum rejected, as a unilateral measure.
On the 8th of the same month, the UN Security Council concluded that it is necessary to re-negotiate the Renaissance Dam intensively, under the auspices of the African Union, in order to sign a binding legal agreement that meets the needs of the three countries.