Egypt expressed, on Saturday, its dissatisfaction with Addis Ababa’s absence from the negotiations over the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that are being held in the United States. Three days before, Ethiopia demanded that a tour, scheduled during the last two days for internal consultations, be postponed. Washington pledged to continue negotiations with Cairo, Khartoum and Addis Ababa to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Despite Ethiopia’s absence from the negotiations over the agreement between the three countries about filling and operating the dam in Washington, Egypt unilaterally signed the agreement that is still under negotiation, according to a governmental source.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that its participation in the meeting that was called for by America on February 28 and 29 was to reach a final agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam and in implementation of the commitments contained in the Declaration of Principles signed between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on March 23 2015. Egypt asked Khartoum and Addis Ababa to sign the agreement as soon as possible on the grounds that it is a fair and balanced agreement that achieves the common interests of the three countries.