March 17 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Ethiopian government has expressed its rejection of “irresponsible” statements by Egyptian Foreign Minister Samé Shukri, who recently stated that “all options are open” when it comes to addressing differences over the dam that builds Addis Ababa on the Blue Nile River.
Shukri said that “all options are open and all options remain available,” given that “Egypt has capabilities” that allow “maintaining all available alternatives” in the face of Ethiopia’s “intransigence,” according to the Egyptian press.
In response, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a statement in which it maintains that “this threat constitutes a flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU)”, as well as “a clear violation”. of the agreement signed in 2015 between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.
For this reason, it has demanded that Cairo “put an end to its meaningless and illegal pronouncements” and has requested “all the actors involved” to “take note of Egypt’s flagrant violation of the principles of international relations” .
“Advances cannot be achieved through threats and intimidation. If there is a position of good faith and full respect for the principles of International Law, a friendly resolution between the three countries is within reach in the negotiations under the auspices of the AU “, he asserted.
Finally, he has reiterated his call for the parties to join this “platform” to achieve “a negotiated solution” regarding the Great Renaissance Dam and has pointed out that “Ethiopia remains committed to an agreement on this matter that benefits all parts”.
Sudan’s military leader, Abdelfatá al-Burhan, stated at the end of January that Khartoum and Addis Ababa are in agreement on all matters” related to the dam after a meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, in the framework of a effort to improve their bilateral relations.
During it, Abiy told Al Burhan that the Great Renaissance Dam “will not cause any harm to Sudan, but will be beneficial in the field of electricity”, while betting on “using the signed documents” to resolve the border dispute.
The governments of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reached an agreement in principle on the main points of dispute surrounding the construction of the dam in January 2020 and promised to sign the final document at the end of February, although Addis Ababa abandoned the talks before signing the agreement, something that only Cairo did.
Ethiopia, which is financing the project alone and hopes to become the continent’s largest generator and exporter of electricity, rejects these accusations. The works are being carried out in the Benishangul-Gumaz region and, when completed, the dam will be the largest on the continent.
