Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have announced that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations have been postponed again for one week, according to separate statements issued by the three countries on Monday.

The negotiations, to be held again on 17 August, have not made progress over the disputed dam. Egypt said: “The Egyptian delegation expressed it was ready to resume negotiations based on the outcomes of the mini-African summit held on 21 July and the ministerial meeting held on 3 August which call for sealing a binding deal on the rules of filling and operating the Renaissance Dam.” But during Monday’s meeting, the Sudanese delegation requested talks be put off for a week to continue internal consultations over the latest Ethiopian proposal, the statements added. The talks had resumed following one week of suspension upon Cairo’s request. Khartoum rejected an Ethiopian proposal submitted on 3 August, containing only guidelines on the filling process, as opposed to the legally binding agreement that Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly demanded.

Last week, Egypt said the Ethiopian proposal lacked guidelines on the dam’s operation and neither did it contain elements indicating a binding deal, or a legal mechanism to settle disputes. Sudan described the Ethiopian proposal as “dangerous,” threatening to withdraw from the talks if Ethiopia insisted on linking an agreement on the dam’s filling to a deal on sharing the Blue Nile water. Egypt said the Ethiopian proposal violates directives given by the African Union in July, calling on the three countries to finalise a legally binding agreement swiftly.