Egypt, Ethiopia in Political Stalemate Over Renaissance Dam – Asharq Al-Awsat 07:57

The world’s concern with the coronavirus pandemic has compounded the political stalemate over the Renaissance Dam conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia, especially after the failure of a US-sponsored agreement at the end of February and Addis Ababa’s announcement of its intention to begin filling the dam reservoir in July.

Following the end of a series of international tours conducted by diplomats from the two countries over the past month, social media platforms in Ethiopia began sharing forums and articles, promoting the dam and belittling Egyptian fears.

Ethiopian agencies have also recruited experts and diplomats to work in this direction, prompting a similar response from Egypt.

Ethiopian writer Noureddin Abda called on the Egyptian government not to rely on Cold War policies, threatening that politicizing the issue of the Renaissance Dam would have negative repercussions on the Egyptian people.

A final agreement was to be concluded between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan regarding the rules for filling and operating the dam, under the auspices of the US Treasury and the World Bank, last February, but Ethiopia withdrew before the last meeting, refusing to sign, and accused the United States of bias in favor of Egypt.

Nasreddine Allam, former Egyptian Minister of Water Resources, said that following Ethiopia’s withdrawal, the country’s media has resorted to an “inappropriate approach, by spreading lies to justify baseless actions by the Ethiopian administration.”

Some have questioned the seriousness of Addis Ababa in filling the dam reservoir in July without an agreement, which could provoke Egypt.

“Ethiopia has no right to fill the reservoir without an agreement with Cairo and Khartoum,” said Faisal Saleh, Minister of Culture and Information and official spokesman for the Sudanese government.

In an interview with Sudan 24, he ruled out that Addis Ababa would take such a step.