CAIRO — Cairo and Khartoum recently sent strongly worded messages to the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, rejecting all Ethiopian practices aimed at imposing a fait accompli by embarking on the second filling phase of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without signing a comprehensive, binding legal agreement governing the filling and operation of the Nile River dam.

Feltman began a regional tour in Cairo on May 5, where he met with the ministers of water and foreign affairs, as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Following his meeting with Feltman, Sisi said the international community ought to be responsible for resolving the crisis over the dam, also known as the GERD. The president said, “Egypt is still seeking to reach a just, fair and binding legal agreement to fill and operate the GERD, which represents an existential issue for Egypt.” He added that Cairo will not accept any attempts to undermine “its water interests,” or “the capabilities of its people,” according to a press release by the presidential spokesperson.

Sudan sent the same message to Feltman, stressing that Khartoum rejects all unilateral measures on the part of Addis Ababa, which is seeking to start the second filling phase of the dam’s reservoir in July.