CAIRO — During a meeting held July 8 at Egypt’s request, the United Nations Security Council discussed the potential threats of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to Egyptian interests in the Nile waters.

The meeting echoed differing international positions and an impartiality of a number of international key players. This weakened the possibilities of a Security Council vote on a negotiated solution to the GERD dispute.

Egypt had its hopes pinned on a Security Council resolution that would push the disputing parties — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia — to agree on a comprehensive framework of engagement to resolve their contentious issues on the GERD crisis. Those include an agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, while preventing Ethiopia from taking unilateral decisions.

During the meeting, the five permanent members of the Security Council gave speeches that were noncommittal on any further Security Council action They asserted that the dispute could only be settled by peaceful means through good faith  negotiations utilizing mediation by the African Union.