Sudan has announced that it will boycott negotiations on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) scheduled for Monday over Ethiopia’s non-commitment to the talks’ agenda, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV reported on Sunday. He added that the AU has suggested a return to negotiations to discuss the contentious points, but the proposal was rejected by Sudan. The talks stumbled last week after Egypt and Sudan called for the suspension of meetings for internal consultations after Addis Ababa proposed a new draft on filling guidelines. The move was condemned by Cairo and Khartoum, both of whom sought a legally binding agreement before the dam’s filling. In its letter, Cairo said the Ethiopian proposal, presented on Tuesday, violates directives by the AU in July calling on the three countries to swiftly finalise a legally binding agreement.

Source: Ethiopian News August 09, 2020 12:11 UTC