Renaissance Dam.. The Security Council calls on the parties to the conflict to resume negotiations to reach a binding agreement

Today, Wednesday, the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement, urging Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations to reach a binding agreement on the Renaissance Dam.

The Council held an open session to adopt the presidential statement on the Renaissance Dam, in which it called for the resumption of negotiations under the auspices of the African Union and to reach an agreement binding on all parties.

Earlier, Al Jazeera learned from a diplomatic source that council members reached an agreement on the wording of the draft statement on Tuesday.

The draft statement - a copy of which was obtained by Al Jazeera - encourages Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations at the invitation of the Chairman of the African Union, to finalize the text of an agreement acceptable to all parties regarding the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam, within a reasonable time frame.

The draft presidential statement calls on the three countries to move forward with the negotiations in a constructive and cooperative manner, and encourages the observers invited to attend the African Union-led negotiations to continue to support the negotiations, with a view to facilitating the resolution of outstanding technical and legal issues.

Briefing the Security Council

The draft presidential statement also calls on the African Union to consider updating the Security Council, if necessary, on its efforts in negotiations.

Egypt and Sudan exchange accusations with Ethiopia of being responsible for the failure of the negotiations on the dam, sponsored by the African Union for months, within a negotiating process that began about 10 years ago, due to differences over the operation and filling of the dam.

Addis Ababa says that it does not aim to harm the interests of the downstream states of the Nile, Egypt and Sudan, but rather aims only to generate electricity from the dam for development purposes, while Cairo and Khartoum call for the conclusion of a legally binding tripartite agreement, to preserve their water facilities, and the continued flow of their annual quotas of water Nile.