Egypt on Friday called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene to restart talks on Ethiopia’s giant hydroelectric dam being built on the Blue Nile.
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi asserted his commitment to following a diplomatic and political path to find a fair solution for all.
Talks over the dam were halted once again earlier this week without a deal.
Notably, Egypt is almost entirely dependent on the Nile for its fresh water.
Its letter to the Security Council on Friday was based on Article 35 of the UN Charter, which allows members to alert the council about any issue that could threaten international peace and security.
"The Arab Republic of Egypt took this decision in light of the stalled negotiations that took place recently on the Renaissance Dam as a result of Ethiopian stances that are not positive," Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Among these talks were many tripartite negotiations and the talks that were held in Washington with the mediation of the United States and the World Bank, which resulted in reaching a balanced agreement for all three countries; however, it was rejected by Ethiopia.
The Ministry revealed that the most recent talks were arranged by Sudan, but still all efforts have gone in vain due to “Ethiopia’s lack of political will, and its insistence on continuing to fill the Dam unilaterally in violation of the Declaration of Principles Agreement signed by the three countries on March 23, 2015.”
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew told the Associated Press on Friday that "we want to make it clear that Ethiopia will not beg Egypt and Sudan to use its own water resource for its development."
