Sudan Says Return to GERD Negotiations Subject to Change in Method

Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the GERD, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)
Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the GERD, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)
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Sudan Says Return to GERD Negotiations Subject to Change in Method

Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the GERD, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)
Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas takes part in a trilateral meeting to resume negotiations on the GERD, in Khartoum, Sudan on Dec. 21, 2019. (AFP)

Sudan is unwilling to return to the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam (GERD) negotiations with the old method, led by the African Union (AU).

Sudan’s Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasir Abbas urged a change in the negotiating method, saying: “Sudan is not ready to enter into talks with Ethiopia in the same previous way because it means buying time.”

Speaking at a press conference in Khartoum, Abbas said Khartoum demands a change in the AU’s negotiations methodology, developing the role of observers into mediators, and forming an international mediation quartet made up of the AU, United Nations, European Union, and US.

He asserted Sudan’s demand, which was proposed in Kinshasa in April, and backed by Egypt.

Abbas also stressed that exchanging information about filling and operating the GERD “is an absolute necessity” and that a legally binding agreement in this regard “must be signed.”

The official affirmed that the GERD could be beneficial to Sudan provided that information is exchanged with Sudanese officials managing the Roseires Dam under a legally binding agreement.

The GERD will completely change the flow of the Blue Nile by flattening its hydrograph, and with its gigantic size, it “poses substantial threats to Sudan if it is not properly designed, constructed, filled and operated,” he continued.

Abbas reiterated his government’s commitment to serious negotiations as the only way to resolve the dispute over the dam.

“When we say the Roseires Dam, we mean that the entire water system from Khartoum to Atbara will be affected, as well as drinking water plants. It will go out of service if the water level drops to less than 90 million cubic meters.”

The official ruled out Sudan’s signing of a bilateral agreement with Ethiopia, saying the Blue Nile is an international river shared by countries.

“Sudan will benefit from the GERD in terms of generating electricity and reducing silt and floods, but only on the condition that there is a binding tripartite agreement,” said Abbas.

He reiterated that the three parties agreed on 90 percent of the contentious issues, which are primarily technical, adding that the remaining 10 percent are related to the binding legal agreement, which defines conflict resolution mechanisms in case of disagreement.



Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
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Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met for a second time in two days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza as Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly before 5 p.m. EDT for a meeting that was not expected to be open to the press. The two men met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday during the Israeli leader's third US visit since the president began his second term on January 20.

Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance and then visited the US Capitol on Tuesday. He told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel's campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu's return to the White House to see Trump on Tuesday pushed back his meeting with US Senate leaders to Wednesday.

Shortly after Netanyahu spoke, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week.

"We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we'll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released," Witkoff told reporters at a meeting of Trump's Cabinet.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.

Trump had strongly supported Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics by criticizing prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.

In his remarks to reporters at the US Congress, Netanyahu praised Trump, saying there has never been closer coordination between the US and Israel in his country's history.