Can Sudan change course of Nile dam talks?
After the tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reached a dead end, Egypt and Sudan turned to the UN Security Council to resolve the crisis.
CAIRO — In a letter submitted to the UN Security Council on June 26, Sudan called on the world body to “discourage all parties relevant to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) from taking any unilateral action, including the filling of the dam’s reservoir, before reaching an agreement.”
The Sudanese plea came after Egypt asked the Security Council June 19 to intervene in the GERD dispute and support the tripartite negotiations to reach a fair solution to the crisis after talks had stalled June 12.
The UN Security Council met June 29 to discuss the issue in the presence of representatives of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Ethiopia's UN Ambassador Taye Atskeselassie Made argued that the issue should not be addressed by the Security Council, saying that after being denied the use of its resources, Addis Ababa seeks to utilize them in a rational way and that the dispute is the domain of the African Union.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that the dam endangers the lives of more than 150 million Egyptians and Sudanese, and that if disaster strikes, the Sudanese as well as the Egyptians will face great danger. He warned that Egypt will not allow any threat to its water security.
