On Sunday, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt is using “sabotage tactics” during the recent talks on the Renaissance Dam in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry was responding to statements issued by Cairo affirming its right to protect Egypt’s historic rights over the Nile water after negotiations reached a “dead end.” Ethiopia denies this.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Cairo objected to the plan to fill the dam’s reservoir in a period of time ranging from four to seven years, as recommended by hydrologists and water scientists.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry added: “It is not a new approach by the Egyptian government, it is another example of sabotage tactics adopted to stop the process of environmental and social impact assessment of the dam.”

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt’s demands, calling for a fourth international party to resolve the existing problems on the dam are “unjustified,” stressing that the recourse to principle “X” of the agreement of principles “premature.”

According to the text of the agreement of principles signed in Khartoum on March 23 2015, Principle X states that international mediation may be requested to settle disputes between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa said that the government will continue to “take an approach does not lead to direct or indirect recognition of any previous treaty to allocate water, which does not apply to Ethiopia, whatever.”

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday commented on the failure of the Renaissance Dam negotiations, saying: “The results of the tripartite meeting in Khartoum did not result in any positive development,” adding that state institutions continue to take the necessary measures at the political level and within the parameters of international law to protect these rights.

The Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Salshi Baql, said that the negotiations “have not reached a dead end,” pointing to his country’s refusal to mediate from any side, and that negotiations will continue between the three countries in order to reach an agreement.