The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is pictured on 20 July 2020. (AFP)
Dec 20. 2023.
Posted by Balkan
Periscope - Hellas
Egypt said
the latest talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) had failed but
it would monitor the process of filling and operating the dam.
"Egypt reserves its right, in accordance with international charters and accords, to defend its water and national security in case of any harm," Egypt's ministry of water resources and irrigation said in a statement on Tuesday.
In a
statement, Ethiopia's foreign ministry said Egypt had
"misrepresented" Ethiopia's positions in the talks.
Egyptian
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in
July that they would aim to finalize a deal over the disputed dam within four
months. Years of stop-start talks have proved unsuccessful.
Egypt has
long opposed the project because of worries about its future supplies of water
from the Nile, on which it is heavily dependent. Sudan, another downstream
country, has expressed concern about the regulation and safety of its own water
supplies and dams.
Ethiopia,
which argues that it is exercising its right to economic development, said in
September it had completed its final phase of filling a reservoir for a massive
hydroelectric power plant at the dam on the Blue Nile.
"The
meeting was unsuccessful due to Ethiopia's persistent refusal ... to accept any
of the technical or legal compromise solutions that would safeguard the
interests of all three countries," the Egyptian statement said.
Ethiopia,
however, said Egypt was unwilling to compromise. "Ethiopia remains
committed to reach an amicable and negotiated settlement that addresses the
interests of the three countries and looks forward to the resumption of the
negotiation," the foreign ministry statement said.
AFP
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