FM Says Russia Expected to Play Positive Role in GERD Crisis

Foreign Minister (FM) Sameh Shoukry said on Sunday that Egypt expects Russia to play a positive role in settling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis with Ethiopia.

 

In exclusive statements to Russian News Agency "TASS", Shoukry said that he will hold talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, on the GERD, and the role that Moscow could play through its membership in the UN Security Council, within the framework of international efforts to resolve the crisis and reach a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam.

 

Moreover, the FM pointed out that the negotiations on the GERD had not resumed due to Ethiopia's intransigence, explaining that Russia needs to play a more positive role in this file.

 

On Wednesday, Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation, Yasser Abbas warned that the failure to reach a fair and binding agreement on GERD threatens regional security and peace.

 

“Sudan has begun preparing for the lack of water levels in front of the dams,” Abbas said in a press conference on the results of Kinasha- based Talks on GERD, adding: “We will make sure to store one billion cubic meters of water in the Roseires Dam.”

 

Moreover, He added that Ethiopia rejected all the Egyptian and Sudanese proposals in Kinshasa.

 

On Tuesday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the latest round of African Union (AU) sponsored trilateral talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia that were held in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an attempt to re-launch deadlocked negotiations over the disputed GERD failed to reach an agreement.