Reuters MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry confirmed, during a phone call with the European Union Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, that Ethiopia’s decision to unilaterally fill the Renaissance Dam will have negative repercussions.
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The Egyptian Foreign Ministry stated, in a statement, that Shoukry had a phone call with Borrell on Wednesday, during which he reviewed the bilateral relations between Egypt and the European Union and the developments of the Renaissance Dam file, as well as an exchange of views on regional developments.
The spokesman for the ministry, Ahmed Hafez, said in the statement that Shoukry reviewed “Egypt’s position seeking to reach a fair, balanced and legally binding agreement on filling and operating the Renaissance Dam through a serious and effective negotiation process that enables the three countries to reach the desired agreement.”
According to the statement, Shoukry addressed the elements of the proposal submitted by the sisterly Republic of Sudan, which was supported by Egypt, calling for the development of the negotiation mechanism through the formation of an international quartet led by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its capacity as the current chair of the African Union, with the participation of the United Nations, the European Union and the United States of America. Towards a negotiated solution to the issue of the Renaissance Dam, noting in this regard the importance of European involvement in this regard, and the role that the European Union may play in any future negotiations.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister stressed, “the importance of these efforts leading to the launch of a negotiating process that will lead to an agreement on the Renaissance Dam, taking into account the interests of the three countries and not impinging on their water rights, with the need to reach that agreement before the next flood season, which Ethiopia announced its intention to implement.” The second stage of filling it through. “
Shoukry stressed that “Ethiopia’s taking this unilateral step will have negative repercussions on the two downstream countries.”
Source: RT
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