Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan trade barbs amid stalled Nile dam talks
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia exchange accusations over the stalled talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, at a time when all parties are on alert to see whether Addis Ababa will proceed with the dam’s filling in the absence of an agreement.
Ethiopia recently accused both Egypt and Sudan of politicizing the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and viewed that such an approach will not bring the yielded results to any of the parties.
These accusations may escalate the situation between the three parties and cast a shadow on the stalled tripartite negotiations.
Speaking at a virtual event hosted by the Ethiopian Embassy in London on April 15 with the participation of negotiators in the tripartite talks on the dam, Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen said that placing pressure on Ethiopia through a deliberate politicization and internationalization of the dispute will not have Ethiopia consent to the Nile Basin agreement signed during the colonial period.
Mekonnen added that Ethiopia will not agree on the unfair conditions that preserve Egypt and Sudan’s hegemony over the waters. He reiterated his country’s refusal of an internationalization of the dispute and called on Egypt and Sudan to adopt a constructive approach that would generate yielding results to the two countries as part of the African Union (AU)-led negotiations.
