Ethiopia's ambassador to Cairo Markos Tekle Rike said on Wednesday that the talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be resumed soon. In a press conference at the Ethiopian embassy in Cairo, Rike said that the talks will be resumed soon under the auspices of the African Union to discuss reaching an agreement that satisfies all parties. The ambassador added that Addis Ababa is keen on solving differences peacefully. Concerning Sudan's suggestion to have an international quartet commission of the African Union, the UN, the EU and the US mediate the talks, Ambassador Rike reiterated previous statements by the Ethiopian foreign ministry that his country has not officially received the suggestion. "We only heard about it from the media," he said, adding that Ethiopia has been transparent with Egypt since the start of construction on the dam in 2011. He also reiterated Ethiopia's claim that the GERD will cause no harm to the downstream countries. Rike also said that Ethiopia initially aimed to fill the GERD in three years, but it agreed to make it seven years for the sake of the downstream countries. The ambassador's statements come one day after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi made a statement where he said that "compromising Egypt's share of water is a red line, and our response [if our water share is affected] would impact the stability of the whole region." "No one can take a drop of water from Egypt," El-Sisi said, adding that "if this happens, there will be inconceivable instability in the region that no one could imagine." Egypt and Sudan are demanding that Ethiopia sign a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD before it starts its second filling in July. Ethiopia, however, says that it will move forward with the second filling regardless of whether it reaches an agreement with the two downstream countries.
