Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied media reports claiming that Egypt has asked Israel’s mediation in talks between Cairo and Addis Ababa on the Ethiopian controversial Renaissance Dam, state-owned news agency MENA reported ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement Monday.
Abu Zeid added that Egyptian foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s recent visit to Israel did not tackle the Ethiopian dam issue, noting that the talks focused only on the stalled Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.
In early July, Shoukry made a rare visit to Tel Aviv, where he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shoukry stated that his meeting with Netanyahu tackled Sisi’s vision to revive peace talks to end Palestinians’ humanitarian crisis.
Since May 2011, Cairo has voiced its concern that the dam could reduce the country’s annual share of more than 56 billion cubic meters of Nile water. Addis Ababa, however, has claimed that the dam is necessary for its development, and will not harm downstream countries.
