FM Gedu Says Egypt Can't Negotiate, Obstruct Discussion at Same Time

Addis Ababa June 16/2020(ENA) Egypt cannot have it both ways, negotiating and at the same time accusing Ethiopia; and most of all obstruct the ongoing negotiation, Foreign Affairs Minister Gedu Andargachew said.

Briefing journalists today about the tripartite negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) held for the last five consecutive days, Foreign Affairs Minister Gedu said Egypt is making efforts to take the issue to the UN Security Council while negotiating.

Egypt “as you all know has nothing to give and never receives what is given to her in negotiation”, he revealed, adding that it is trying to take dual routes at the same time.

Ethiopia has been negotiating based on the principles of just and equitable share, Gedu noted.

He further stated that though the government and people of Ethiopia fully cover the cost of GERD and the country is the major contributor of the Nile River, it is negotiating with those who “persistently engage in defaming us in the international arena.”

“While we invite them for negotiation open minded and discussing issues based on principles, Egyptians are thinking in a different way and to disrupt the negotiation,” the minster explained.

Egypt has left no stone unturned to first stop the construction and then “hold us back when we already started,” he explained.

“Now, they are working to defame and weaken Ethiopia,” the foreign minister underscored.

Ethiopia’s poverty and lack of development cannot ensure Egypt’s sustainable national interest, Gedu observed, adding that their “regimes fail to understand this reality.”

According to him, “they do not want to give anything but want to take it all. We are negotiating in such a situation.”

The minister wondered whether Egyptian leaders enjoy to see Ethiopians living in dark.

Gedu called on the international community to pressure Egypt to act as per the principles of just and equitable share of the Nile River.

He also urged Ethiopians to stand in unison as ever towards completing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that has value in the country’s future prospect.