Egypt: Ethiopia's Statement on AL's GERD Resolution 'Undiplomatic'

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry categorically rejected Saturday the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry's statement on the resolution passed Wednesday by the Arab League Council about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In a press release, the ministry condemned the Ethiopian statement as both unbecoming and undiplomatic, noting that it is an intolerable insult to the pan-Arab body and its member states.

"The Arab League's resolution urged Ethiopia to abide by relevant international law and refrain from taking any unilateral action to the detriment of Egypt's Nile water rights and interests," the ministry noted.

"The AL resolution only reflects how far the Ethiopian side went in their disregard for the collective interests of sovereign Arab states Ethiopia is trying to dominate," the ministry noted.

"It also demonstrates the league's disappointment and extreme indignation about Ethiopian's positions throughout the negotiation process, especially ever since a declaration of principles on the dam issue was signed in 2015," the ministry added.

The Egyptian ministry said that Addis Ababa has no right to give lessons to the Arab League or its member states about the nature of relations biding the Arab and African states.

The ministry affirmed that all the parties in the negotiation could still reach a balanced resolution for the GERD crisis, guaranteeing the common interests of the three countries, a chance which should be seized in favor of 240 million citizens in Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.