Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov discussed with the Egyptian Ambassador in Moscow Ihab Nasr the situation in Syria, Libya, as well as issues related to the construction of the Renaissance HPP on the Nile, the Russian Foreign Ministry reports.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the meeting of the two diplomats was held on the initiative of the Egyptian side.
"During the conversation, there was an in-depth exchange of views on key aspects of the regional agenda, with an emphasis on the situation in Syria, Libya, and the prospects for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement. When discussing issues related to the construction of the Renaissance hydroelectric power station on the Nile river, it was stressed that there was no alternative to solving the existing problems through negotiations with the participation of all interested parties in compliance with international law, "the Russian Ministry's website reports.
Ethiopia has been implementing a large-scale project to build the En-Nahda dam (Renaissance) on the Blue Nile since 2012. Its launch, according to experts, will inevitably lead to water shortages in Sudan and Egypt, located downstream. Since the start of construction, the three countries have held more than a dozen meetings to resolve issues of water distribution and the launch of the new facility, but disagreements remain.
According to local media, the construction of the dam, which is intended to become "the largest hydropower project in Africa", is completed by more than 71%. The full construction is planned to be completed in 2023. In early March, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachev said that filling the dam would begin in July, and by the end of the month, the reservoir should contain 4.9 billion cubic meters of water, electricity production would begin in February-March 2021.
The key issue in the trilateral negotiations on the dam is the time frame during which the dam's reservoir will be filled. Egypt has proposed filling it gradually over 10 years, given that the facility needs 74 billion cubic meters of water. Ethiopia is going to do it in just three years. In this case, Egypt and Sudan will only miss 25 billion cubic meters of water per year, which threatens the two countries with drought and crop loss.
Also, according to the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Bogdanov received the Ambassador of the State of Qatar in Moscow, Fahad al-Attiyah.
During the conversation, the parties checked notes on priority issues of further development of multifaceted Russian-Qatari relations.
They also discussed topical regional issues, with an emphasis on the situation in Syria, Libya, the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and the Persian Gulf zone.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Bogdanov also received a representative of the leadership of the Popular Front for Change and Liberation, the head of the Moscow Platform of the Syrian Opposition, Qadri Jamil, at his request.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the topics of the Astana process to promote the Syrian settlement in the context of the June 1 meeting of the presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey, via videoconference and by its results the joint statement.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from RIA Novosti, Russian Foreign Ministry