Despite talks failure, Ethiopia says it will proceed with second filling of GERD

On Tuesday, Ethiopia announced that it will move forward with the second-year filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The Ethiopian announcement comes just hours after the collapse of trilateral talks with Egypt and Sudan to reach an agreement on the re-launching of the negotiations.

The three countries have been involved in a three-day meeting in Congo's Kinshasa under the auspices of the African Union (AU) but efforts to unlock the decade-long dispute have failed.

The talks failed to make progress due to Ethiopia's rejection of Egypt and Sudan's proposal of inviting an international committee made up of the UN, the European Union (EU), and the US to help the AU in either mediating or facilitating the row, as according to Cairo and Khartoum.

Both downstream countries accused Addis Ababa of attempting to prolong the negation to impose fait accompli on the downstream countries.

"Ethiopia cannot enter into an agreement that would foreclose its current and future legitimate rights over the utilization of the Nile," the Ethiopian foreign minister said in reference to Egypt and Sudan's demand to sign a trilateral legally binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating of the dam.

The step, which has been sought by Cairo and Khartoum, has been repeatedly dodged or rejected by Addis Ababa.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said earlier today that Egypt and Sudan will head to the UN and Security council to brief them on the latest developments in the ten-year-old issue.