"It is too soon to say the negotiations have failed," Ethiopia's Ambassador to Egypt, Markos Tekle, has commented on the ongoing talks between Addis Ababa, Cairo, and Khartoum over the near decade-long dispute caused by the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Interviewed by the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat, Tekle said on Sunday Ethiopia does not aim to negotiate forever, stressing his country's decision not to invite mediators to the negotiations. He believes that the three countries can negotiate successfully without any need for mediators. Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the filling and operations of the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) resume on Sunday, days after Khartoum called for a new one-week round of talks aimed to revive the stalled talks. "We have not asked for a mediator, and we still adhere to this position until now. We believe that Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan can discuss [GERD-related issues] and reconcile differences. Therefore we currently do not intend to invite any party to take part in [the negotiations] as a mediator," he said. Tekle's remark comes a few hours before the resumption of the negotiations between the three African countries on the near-complete mega-dam under the brokerage of the African Union (AU). The Ethiopian diplomat assured that his country still believes in negotiations under the aegis of the African Union, while stressing the continental body should continue its role as a manager of the negotiation meetings and not as a mediator. "This is the best way to move forward," he added. The AU had stepped in the long-running dispute after the tripartite negotiations reached deadlock last year, as did talks sponsored by the US and the World Bank in February. In a surprise statement last week, US President Donald Trump lashed out against Ethiopia for its withdrawal from the final round of the US-brokered negotiations in February, adding that Cairo's concerns in the dispute are legitimate. Trump added "It's a very dangerous situation because Egypt is not going to be able to live that way," adding that "Egypt could end up blowing up the dam." Tekeli refused, during the interview, to comment on Trump's statements, considering the official response released by his country as enough. Without mentioning Trump explicitly, Addis Ababa said that statements of belligerent threats to have Ethiopia succumb to unfair terms are still abound. Responding to the US' decision to suspend aid to Addis Ababa over filling its controversial dam without reaching an accord with Cairo and Khartoum, Tekle said "We have not sat down yet to discuss and review the impact of such decisions on relations between Ethiopia and the US." "As for Ethiopia, we have very good ties, spanning more than 100 years, with the United States … we believe that our relations will go on despite such events or situations," he stressed. The Ethiopian Ambassador denied any incongruence between his country's desire to continue the talks and filling its dam earlier this summer despite the lack of accord with Egypt and Sudan on the rules of filling and operating the dam, the main sticking points besting the talks. "Yes, we embarked on that, but we still hope to reach an agreement through negotiations," he said. "Sometimes, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, or the change of the ruling regime in Sudan, or because of some outstanding issues, the negotiations did not go the way we wanted; and last summer, the rainy season was very abundant, and the first phase of building the dam was completed," he explained.
