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Ethiopia Prepares for 3rd GERD Filling, Aboul Gheit Slams UN Security Council

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa. (AFP)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa. (AFP)
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Ethiopia Prepares for 3rd GERD Filling, Aboul Gheit Slams UN Security Council

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa. (AFP)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is set to become the largest hydropower plant in Africa. (AFP)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit criticized the international community as Ethiopia is expected to start the third phase of filling the Grand Renaissance Dam’s reservoir during the upcoming rainy season.

Aboul Gheit said Sunday the international community, starting with the United Nations Security Council, has “failed” Egypt and Sudan.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is set to be the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa but has been a center of dispute with downstream nations, Egypt and Sudan, ever since work first began in 2011.

Cairo has reiterated its demand that Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum reach a legally-binding agreement to fill and operate the dam.

Ethiopian officials have recently stated that the third filling will take place in August and September.

“The Security Council claims that it is responsible for maintaining international peace and security,” Aboul Gheirt said in televised statements on Sunday.

However, he expressed regret that it hasn’t acted to protect more than 150 million people in Egypt and Sudan.

He further stressed that Egypt will not give up any of its share in the Blue Nile waters, estimated at 55 billion cubic meters.

Aboul Gheit said if Egypt succeeds in persuading Ethiopia to fill the dam reservoir at a reasonable amount and without affecting Cairo and Khartoum’s annual quota, then they will not have to resort to any external political measures.

He urged relevant authorities to work on expanding water circulation, improve modern irrigation tools, rely on groundwater and work on drip irrigation.

The last round of talks between the three countries in Kinshasa ended in early April 2021 with no progress made.

In mid-September, the Security Council called on the three countries to resume African Union-led negotiations, stressing the need to reach a “binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam within a reasonable timetable.”

The Arab League has repeatedly announced its support for the Egyptian and Sudanese positions in this regard and has called on Ethiopia to consider their concerns and reach an agreement that meets the demands of all parties.

This has angered Addis Ababa, which rejected the “unwanted” Arab League intervention.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.