Egyptian Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Mohamed Abdel-Ati, said that his country will not accept unilateral action to fill and operate the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), as the UN Security Council convenes within days to discuss the crisis. Abdel-Ati added that negotiations with Ethiopia over GERD have stagnated as a result of Ethiopia’s intransigence. France’s ambassador to the UN, Nicolas de Riviere said that the UN Security Council will likely meet this week to discuss the dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the GERD that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile. The Arab League has called the Security Council last month to meet to discuss the issue of the dam, and Ethiopia’s plans for the second phase of filling its reservoir this summer, without an agreement with Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia rejected the position of Egypt and Sudan in referring the issue to the Security Council, and called on the council to encourage the two countries to engage in negotiations led by the African Union, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
