Russia is in favor of a fair settlement of the dispute over the Renaissance Dam being built by Ethiopia and is ready to assist in achieving a solution that is fair for each of the parties concerned, the Russian ambassador to Egypt, Georgy Borisenko, said on Thursday in a commentary published on the diplomatic mission's website.
"We see how serious the challenge of water security is for Egypt. We understand the concerns of our Egyptian friends regarding the construction of the Renaissance Dam on the territory of Ethiopia," said the diplomat. - "Russia has always advocated and continues to advocate a fair resolution of the dispute around this construction with full consideration of the interests of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia".
In this context, according to Borisenko, Russia is ready to do its best to find a solution acceptable to each party. "We are convinced that compromise solutions can and should be found between the neighbors, which will allow all three states to implement national development programs in an atmosphere of good-neighborliness, peace and stability. We are ready to provide all possible assistance in this, including working with Addis Ababa in favor of a mutually acceptable agreement at the negotiating table," emphasized the head of the Russian diplomatic mission in Cairo.
Ethiopia has been implementing the project on the creation of the largest dam in Africa since 2011. The capacity of the four-dam cascade HPP will be 5,250 MW. The project is 80% complete, and Addis Ababa intends to commission the dam in 2022-2023. Egypt and Sudan are afraid that as a result of its commissioning, the Nile may face acute water shortage, which will lead to numerous social, economic and environmental problems, and are trying to fix for themselves water norms and to stretch the terms of filling the dam as long as possible.
The three countries have been unable to reach a compromise on the timing of filling and operating the dam for a year. Egypt is seeking to lengthen the schedule and conclude a legally binding agreement that will clearly regulate the timing and norms of filling the reservoir of the hydroelectric power station. Ethiopia, which is extremely interested in filling and launching the dam as soon as possible, is not ready to sign the documents proposed by Cairo.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: middle-east-online.com
Based on materials of TASS