The fifth filling of the "Renaissance" Egypt "sounds the alarm bell" after the Ethiopian provocation and challenge to Cairo

Egypt has sent a letter to the UN Security Council following recent statements by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed regarding the fifth phase of filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Egypt addressed the UN Security Council again to inform it of Ethiopian practices in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis, and to emphasize its rejection of unilateral policies that violate the rules and principles of international law, and Ethiopian violations of the agreements signed between the two countries.

Egypt has notified the council on four previous occasions after each stage of filling the dam, up to the fifth filling stage, which Ethiopia is currently implementing, making it a routine step in the eyes of former diplomats.

Ambassador Hussein Haridi, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, believes that Egypt does not want to escalate matters with Ethiopia, and that it is informing the Security Council of the Egyptian position regarding Ethiopia’s decision to prevent the flow of water through the dam.

Haridi added to RT that the speech to the Security Council is a "sounding alarm bell" about the potential consequences of the Ethiopian decision on security and stability in the Horn of Africa, the Nile Basin countries and Africa.

Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that the construction of the Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile would be 100% completed by next December, describing it as a historic achievement.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister explained that the dam has been holding 900 million cubic meters of water per day since the start of the fifth phase a few days ago, and that it currently holds 62.5 billion cubic meters in its lake, expecting this number to rise to between 70 and 71 billion cubic meters by December, out of a total of 74 billion cubic meters, which is the total targeted capacity of the dam.

Egypt rejected these statements in their entirety, saying in its letter to the Security Council that they represent a continuation of Ethiopia's approach that is causing trouble with its neighbors and threatening the stability of the region, adding that Addis Ababa is using negotiations as a cover to establish a fait accompli.

For his part, Egyptian Ambassador Rakha Ahmed Hassan, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, believes that Abiy Ahmed's recent statements indicate Ethiopia's challenge to Egypt, and not just a refusal to sign a binding agreement, noting that Ethiopia has been pretending to negotiate and manipulating this process over the past years.

The former diplomat told RT that if the Security Council calls for a return to negotiations, the negotiations must be based on a written formula, such as a preliminary agreement paper being negotiated, drafted by the African Union or another legal body.

He stated that Egypt's letter to the Security Council is a response to the recent statements of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, which he described as "provocative", explaining that "an Egyptian response was necessary, especially after he spoke about his country's right to withhold any quantity and under any circumstances, which means the possibility of withholding water during a drought period; which represents a disaster for Egypt."

Hassan added that the Security Council refuses to interfere in water issues, because the world is full of such issues, including major countries, so the Council distances itself from interfering in the Renaissance Dam issue, so as not to create a precedent that opens the door to other international issues.

Egyptian water expert Dr. Abbas Sharaky doubted the amount of water held behind the dam, as announced by Ethiopia, noting that the fifth storage of the Renaissance Dam began on July 17 at a storage of 41 billion cubic meters, and this number reached 58 billion cubic meters by September 2, at a height of 638 meters above sea level.

He pointed out that Egypt sent a letter to the UN Security Council as a usual step after every storage, to register Egypt's international objection to the Ethiopian decisions, stressing that it is a necessary step before the Egyptian and international community.

He stressed that the Renaissance Dam is becoming more dangerous day after day for Sudan and Egypt, due to the large storage volume (more than 57 billion cubic meters, and will soon reach 64 billion cubic meters); which is a fundamental reason for Egypt and Sudan to demand that the Security Council carry out its responsibilities to maintain security and peace in the region.