Egypt welcomes Russia’s mediation in Ethiopia dam dispute

A general view of the the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), near Guba in Ethiopia, on December 26, 2019 [EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images]

Egypt is counting on Russia’s support in resolving the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said yesterday.

« We rely on Russia, through its relations with the three countries [in the dispute] and its capabilities and given its international prestigious impact and position, to push the various parties to refrain from unilateral acts, » Shoukry said in a meeting held in the Egyptian capital Cairo with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

For a decade now, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have been trying to reach an agreement over the GERD, in an attempt to serve joint interests without undermining water quotas of downstream nations.

African Union-brokered negotiations between the three countries failed last week, with Cairo and Khartoum blaming what they described as the « Ethiopian intransigence ».

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