Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Dina Mufti said on Tuesday that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) talks between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan will commence soon under the leadership of the Democratic Republic of Congo “DRC”, the current chair of the African Union.

In his biweekly press briefing to the media in Addis Abba, Mufti tackled several issues, including the GERD situation.

He stated that Ethiopia remains confident that the AU-led negotiations over the GERD is an ongoing process that will provide win-win solutions to the negotiating parties.

In his statements, Dina Mufti reiterated that Ethiopia has not officially received the international Quartet meditation suggestion by Sudan as of yet, adding that the AU-led negotiation should be finalised before any other option is pursued to solve outstanding issues among the tripartite regarding the GERD.

The last round of negotiations under the auspices of the AU, which was held online on 10 January, ended in a stalemate

“In case any other option is deemed necessary, the issue shall be treated by pertinent provisions of the Tripartite Declaration of Principles on the GERD,” he said.

Sudan has proposed forming an International quartet committee made up of the African Union, the European Union, the United States, and the United Nations to mediate in the GERD talks.

Egypt has supported the suggestion and both countries requested Ethiopia to accept the opportunity to restart negotiations.

Egypt and Sudan demand that a legally binding agreement is reached before the second filling to secure their water interests and protect their peoples from the implications of filling the mega dam.

Concerning the Ethiopian-Sudanese border dispute, Dina Mufti stated that Ethiopia believed that negotiations were the way to solve the Sudanese border dispute, on the condition that Sudan pulls back its troops out of Ethiopian territories “occupied” as of 6 November 2020.

He also asked the international community to continue to pressure Sudan to respect international law according to the provisions of the 1972 Notes it has exchanged with Ethiopia.