21 Oct 2019 - 07:43 by OOSKAnews CorrespondentCAIRO, EgyptEgypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is expected to press for an external mediator in its ongoing dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) when he meets Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Russia this week. "We're hoping this meeting might produce an agreement on the participation of a fourth party," an Egyptian foreign ministry official told journalists 20 October. Ethiopia had said last week that it will not accept any mediation regarding talks over the filling and operation of the dam, insisting on tripartite consultations among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. Egypt held Ethiopia responsible for the failure of the negotiations, saying it "rejected all proposals that would help Egypt avoid serious harms because of the construction of the dam." Egypt's Foreign Minister (FM) Sameh Shoukry had recently expressed frustration with Ethiopia’s stance on filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Source: Ethiopian News October 21, 2019 11:48 UTC