Russia is ready to provide an expert assessment in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia, but will not play the role of a mediator in the negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2021) Russia is ready to provide an expert assessment in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia, but will not play the role of a mediator in the negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.
"Our leadership has indeed once offered its technical expertise to the countries involved in this dispute. Those were, first of all, satellite images, and as I understand it, the analysis of experts in the water and energy sector ... We do not, however, claim any other roles. We were not invited to mediate," Lavrov said at a press conference in Cairo after talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry.
The minister added that the African Union (AU), which was actually invited as a mediator, was the right structure in which Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia could solve the continent-related issues through the joint efforts of the African countries.
Shoukry, in turn, expressed hope that Moscow would help all the concerned states find a compromise.
"Egypt has already turned to the [UN] Security Council, and unfortunately, we were not able to resolve the dispute through the Security Council. We are now hoping for Russia's support because it has a privileged relationship with all three states," the top Egyptian diplomat said.
GERD has been under construction on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia since 2011 and will become the largest dam in Africa when completed. However, the project triggered disputes with Egypt and Sudan that both fear that the dam would undermine their water security. The talks between the three countries on a final agreement that would resolve all contradictions on the use of Nile's water and the dam's work repeatedly hit a deadlock.
Ethiopia has already completed the first stage of filling the dam reservoir and plans to start the next stage during this summer's rain season. Sudan, on its part, voiced concerns that this risked partially depriving the country of electricity generation.
On April 4, a fresh round of talks were held in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which presides over the AU. Last year, the negotiations were conducted under the auspices of South Africa. Ethiopia said that the next round could take place in late April.
