Egypt and Ethiopiaโs leaders met in Russia to discussย aย dispute over a dam on the Nile river that has been the source of protracted diplomatic tensionsย between the countries.ย
Egypt has vehemently opposed Ethiopiaโs mega project, claiming it would reduce the riverโs flow and endanger Egyptโs population, which depends on the river for 90 percentย of its water supply.ย
Egyptian Presidentย Abdel Fattah el-Sisi โdelivered a messageโ to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about Addis Ababaโs soon-to-be-finished dam on the Blue Nile, anย Egyptian diplomatic source told the AFP news agency.ย
The 45-minute meeting on the sidelines of an Africa summit in Moscow followed Ahmedโs insistence this week that Ethiopia would respond to any threat of force.ย
โSome say things about use of force [by Egypt]. It should be underlined that no force could stop Ethiopia from building a dam,โ Ahmed was quoted as saying by theย Associated Press.ย
โIf there is a need to go to war, we could get millions readied. If some could fire a missile, others could use bombs. But thatโs not in the best interest of all of us.โ
Egyptian foreign ministry officialsย saidย earlier this week that Cairo would soon push Ethiopia to agree to an external mediator to help resolve a deadlock over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)ย being built on Ethiopiaโs Blue Nile.ย
Discussions between the two countries, in addition to Sudan, through which the river also passes, have been blocked for nine years.
โThe damโฆ was discussed during [Russian President Vladimir Putinโs] meeting with the President of Egypt, and during a meeting with the Prime Minister ofย Ethiopia,โ said Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Putin told the two leaders they should take advantage of their presence in Sochi to โdirectly discuss [their]ย concernsโ and that he also offered โhis assistanceโ, Peskov said.
In early October, negotiations in Khartoum resulted in a โstalemateโ, according to Cairo, which has since sought international mediation.ย
Ethiopiaย has rejected the claim, calling it โan unwarranted denial of theย progressโ made during the negotiations.
At loggerheadsย
For years, Egypt has viewed the Nile as its own, saying it has โhistoric rightsโ to the river, guaranteed by treaties from 1929 and 1959. The countryย and its population of 100 million relyย on the river for 90 percent of their freshwater.
Egyptian officials have said they want theย damโs reservoir to release a higher volume of water than Ethiopia is willing to guarantee.
At one stage, Egyptian politicians talked about bombing the dam in order to preserve what they viewed as their historical right to the riverโs waters,ย MEE has reported.
Ethiopia has defended its right to build the dam, now around 70 percentย complete, with the declared aim of providing electricity for its 100 million people.ย
Egypt is faced with worsening water scarcity andย says it is already working to reduce the amount it uses in agriculture.
