Sudan: GERD Represents ‘Direct Threat’ to Rossaires Dam

On Sunday, Sudan affirmed that it will not allow the 2nd filling and operation of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to go without reaching a binding legal agreement that secures the safety of its facilities and the lives of the Sudanese people.

In press statements, Sudanese Minister of Resources and Irrigation Yasser Abbas said that GERD represents a ‘direct threat’ to the Rossaires dam, whose storage capacity is less than 10% of the capacity of the GERD.

Moreover, Abbas said that "This vicious cycle of talks cannot be continued indefinitely," pointing out to "the failure of the last negotiation round between Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Sudan to reach an acceptable formula to all sides."

The Sudanese minister also emphasized that "war is not an option, and the Sudanese side adopts a diplomatic move," calling on the International community to persuade Addis Ababa to back down on its position.

On Saturday, the Sudanese Information Minister Faisal Saleh stressed that his country will not accept the imposition of de facto policy on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In press statements, Saleh threatened that Sudan would face this policy by all possible means.

“African mediation in GERD issues in its old form is useless. Negotiations are the way out of this crisis,” Sudanese PM continued. “We do not seek an escalation.”

On his part, the Sudanese Foreign Minister (FM) expressed hope that Ethiopia wouldn’t start the dam’s second filling in July without reaching a binding agreement.

Last Sunday, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the new round of negotiations failed to achieve any progress over the controversial GERD.

In a statement, the ministry asserted that Egypt is ready to get in serious talks in order to reach, in the nearest possible time, a legally binding agreement on the filing and operations of the GERD that safeguards Egypt’s rights and water interests and is in line with the decisions of the African Union office’s meetings on the issue

It added that today’s meeting failed to achieve any progress due to the differences on how to resume the talks and the procedures related to the negotiations process.

South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Naledi Pandor, who attended the online meeting, expressed her sorrow for the failure to achieve any progress, the statement said.

Sudan said that it was concerned the dam could overwhelm its nearby Roseires dam if an agreement is not reached that would allow the countries to share data.

The prolonged dispute between the three countries has continued even after the reservoir behind the $4 billion dam began filling in July.

“Sudan insisted on the assigning of African Union experts to offer solutions to contentious issues … a proposal which Egypt and Ethiopia have reservations about,” Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement posted to social media.