Ethiopia: Negotiation with Egypt, Sudan Still Alive

Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt Markos Tekle confirmed today, Sunday, that (GERD) negotiations didn’t fail, and they hoped to reach an agreement with Egypt and Sudan.

"We still believe in negotiation, and we adhere to our consistent position in this regard, while the African Union will continue its role in managing the negotiation sessions,” Tekle  said. “Nonetheless, we prefer the role of the African Union as the director of the dialogue sessions, and not as a mediator."

“Our position is quite clear. We did not ask for the help of any mediator, and we still adhere to this position to this day,” he added. “We believe that Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan can discuss the relevant issues among themselves and settle their differences without any party to participate as a mediator.”

When asked whether there is a contradiction between his assertion that Ethiopia is "negotiating in good faith" and announcing the beginning of filling the dam before reaching an agreement with Egypt and Sudan, he said: “Yes, we embarked on that, but we still hope to reach an agreement through negotiations,”

“Negotiations did not go at the pace we had hoped for due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic, or the change of the ruling system in Sudan, or because of some pending issues.”