Egypt on Tuesday evening denied reports claiming it was prepared to grant Ethiopia maritime access to the Red Sea in return for flexibility from Addis Ababa over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a long-running source of tension between the two countries. According to Egypt’s state news agency, Middle East News Agency, an official source categorically rejected circulating “reports that Egypt is ready to grant Ethiopia maritime access to the Red Sea in exchange for Ethiopian flexibility regarding the dam”. “No other states have the right to participate in any arrangements or understandings concerning the Red Sea,”, he added— in an apparent reference to Ethiopia, which is landlocked and does not border the sea. Officials in Addis Ababa have repeatedly spoken of Ethiopia’s need for access to the Red Sea, while Egypt has consistently rejected the presence of any non-littoral state in Red Sea arrangements. READ: Trump says he believes progress possible between Egypt, Ethiopia on Nile dam

Source: Ethiopian News February 25, 2026 14:22 UTC