Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi said she hopes Ethiopia will come to its senses and accept the unwavering Sudanese stance on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute. In a meeting with her Algerian counterpart, Ramtane Lamamra, Al-Mahdi said Khartoum seeks to reach a diplomatic solution to the GERD crisis, the Sudanese news agency (SUNA) reported. She highlighted Sudan's stance on the need to reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam. As Ethiopia implemented this month the second phase of the filling, Sudan's irrigation ministry said the River Nile revenue in July reached five billion cubic metres, compared to 7.8 billion cubic metres in July last year. Egypt and Sudan reiterated that they support development in Ethiopia, but called for reaching a legally binding instrument on the filling and operation of the dam. The two downstream states warned of probable significant harm to their water rights and people's lives. While Ethiopia calls for the resumption of the GERD talks under the auspices of the African Union, Sudan's irrigation minister Yasser Abbas affirmed on Wednesday his country's rejection of participating in the GERD negotiations under the same methodology adopted in previous talks. Abbas described the previous methodology as "a waste of time, reiterating Sudan's call to involve the international quartet of the United States, United Nations, African Union, and the European Union in the talks to boost the AU's mediating role." Egypt agrees with Sudan on the need for the international community to get involved in the talks to help the three countries reach a legally binding deal.
