Egypt calls for mediation in Nile dam talks

Egypt has urged international mediation over what it called a deadlock in talks in Sudan over a massive dam under construction on the Nile River, sparking fresh tensions with Ethiopia.

Negotiations between the three countries have been at a stalemate for years after Ethiopia began constructing the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile in 2012.

Ethiopia says the project is needed to provide electricity.

But Egypt is concerned the huge dam will severely reduce its water supplies and says it has historic rights to the river guaranteed by decades-old treaties.

Egypt had called for the involvement of an international party in the Renaissance Dam negotiations to mediate between the three countries, the irrigation ministry said in a statement late on Saturday after a new round of talks ended in Khartoum.

An impasse had been reached after Ethiopia rejected all the proposals that took Egypt’s water interests into account, the ministry said.

It said Ethiopia presented a proposal that lacked guarantees of the minimum water flow as well as how to deal with possible droughts.

The Ethiopian foreign ministry rejected Egypt’s call for international mediation as an unwarranted denial of the progress of talks.

“It also goes against the consent and wishes of Ethiopia,” it said.

The Egyptian presidency called on the US to play an active role in the issue, invoking the need for an international party to overcome the deadlock.

The White House had on Friday expressed support for the negotiations, urging all sides “to put forth good faith efforts to reach an agreement”.

Ethiopia, however, dismissed Cairo’s assessment of the latest negotiations.

“The allegation that talks ended in a deadlock is completely false,” Ethiopian minister for water and energy Selishi Bekele said on Saturday.

He said some progress had been made but acknowledged there were pending issues.

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said Egypt’s approach in the talks was “another instance of a disruptive tactic it applied to halt the hydrology, environmental and social impact assessment of the dam”.

The Nile is a crucial artery for water supplies and electricity for all the countries. –