Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen renewed his country’s rejection of any Arab League intervention in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis between Ethiopia and the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.
The position comes as Addis Ababa prepares to launch the fourth controversial filling of its mega-dam reservoir on the Blue Nile during the rainy season in July and August.
Meanwhile, an unexpected handshake and exchange of smiles between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was witnessed Thursday at the summit of the New Global Financing Pact held in Paris.
This encounter took place despite the ongoing crisis between the two countries regarding the GERD dam.
On Thursday, Mekonnen rejected what he described as “unconstructive and unjustified interference” of the Arab League in the Renaissance dam file. The details of filling the dam were agreed among the experts of the three countries, he said, and that Ethiopia worked to address the concerns of Egypt and Sudan.
His comments echoed a similar position delivered by Addis Ababa in response to the Jeddah Declaration, in which the Arab League stated its support for the water safety of downstream countries.
Last month, the Declaration called for refraining from any unilateral steps that harm Egypt and Sudan's water interests.
In response, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry criticized the statement of the Arab summit saying it was part of Egypt’s efforts to put pressure on Addis Ababa and is an insult to the African Union and member states.
Egypt responded, at that time, by affirming its position calling for “reaching a firm agreement regarding filling and operating the Ethiopian dam.”
Last month, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt depended throughout its history on the Nile river, and 65 percent of Egyptians work in the agricultural sector.
He also said that the African Union had undoubtedly neither succeeded in making Addis Ababa change its position nor had it recourse to similar experiences of transboundary rivers.
Meanwhile, former assistant to Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, said the recent Ethiopian statements echo Addis Ababa’s continued intransigence.
He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the statements confirm that Ethiopia has no intention or desire to reach an agreement with Egypt and Sudan.
Ethiopia is thwarting the Declaration of Principles signed in March 2015, as Addis Ababa did not provide any socio-economic and environmental impact studies of the dam on downstream countries, he said.
Dr Samir Ghattas, head of Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies agreed with Ahmed Hassan. He said the recent Ethiopian statements reveal that Addis Ababa rejects binding international arbitration as a dispute settlement modality for any GERD deal.
Ghattas told Asharq Al-Awsat that Ethiopia also rejects a technical agreement on the filling of the GERD's reservoir.
“Ethiopia is using the current circumstances which placed Egypt alone in the negotiation path as Sudan is busy with the ongoing war,” he said, adding that Addis Ababa also benefits from the presence of the African Union headquarters on its soil, and therefore continues to reject all negotiations.
“There must be a method other than complaining. We have three decisive months, during which Ethiopia will implement the fourth filling of the dam,” Ghattas warned, adding that negotiations have reached a dead end.
He then affirmed that Egypt has no choice but to return to the Security Council and seek the support of the Arab countries and the European Union for the position of the two downstream countries.
