CAIRO, Egypt
Egypt wants the United
Nations Security Council to "undertake its responsibilities" and
prevent Ethiopia from starting to fill its massive, newly built hydroelectric
dam on the Blue Nile next month without an agreement, Egyptian Foreign Minister
Sameh Shukry told The Associated Press, accusing Ethiopian officials
of stoking antagonism between the countries. 
Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
Ethiopia announced Friday that it would begin filling the
dam's reservoir in July even after the latest round of talks with Egypt and
Sudan failed last week to reach an accord governing how the dam will be filled
and operated.
Egypt formally asked the Security Council to intervene in a
letter the same day.
"The responsibility of the Security Council is to address a pertinent threat to international peace and security, and certainly the unilateral actions by Ethiopia in this regard would constitute such a threat," Shukry said in an interview with the AP.
Filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam would potentially bring the years-long dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the $4.6 billion mega-project to a critical juncture. Ethiopia said the electricity that will be generated by the dam is a crucial lifeline to bring millions out of poverty. With the start of the rainy season in July bringing more water to the Blue Nile, the Nile's main tributary, Ethiopia wants to start filling the reservoir.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for more than 90% of its
water supplies, fears a devastating impact if the dam is operated without
taking its needs into account. Sudan, which also largely depends on the Nile
for water, has been caught between the competing interests.
The United States earlier this year tried to broker a deal,
but Ethiopia did not attend the signing meeting in February and accused the
Trump administration of siding with Egypt. Last week, the U.S. National
Security Council tweeted that "257 million people in east Africa are
relying on Ethiopia to show strong leadership, which means striking a fair
deal."
Shukry warned that filling the reservoir without an accord
would violate the 2015 declaration of principles governing their talks — and
rule out a return to negotiations.
"We are not seeking any coercive action by the
Security Council," he said. In a three-page letter to the council, Egypt
asked it to call Ethiopia back into talks for a "fair and balanced
solution" and to urge it refrain from unilateral acts, warning that
filling the dam without a deal "constitutes a clear and present danger to
Egypt" with repercussions that "threaten international peace and
security."
Hanging over the dispute has been the fear it could
escalate into military conflict, especially as Egypt — facing what it calls an
existential threat — repeatedly hits dead ends in its attempt to strike a deal.
Commentators in Egypt's pro-government media have often called for action to
stop Ethiopia. One commentator, Moustafa al-Saeed, said in a Facebook post that
starting to fill the reservoir would be a "declaration of war" and
urged the government to block Ethiopian traffic through the Suez Canal.
Shukry underlined that the Egyptian government has not
threatened military action, has sought a political solution, and has worked to
convince the Egyptian public that Ethiopia has a right to build the dam to meet
its development goals.
"Egypt has never, never over the past six years even
made an indirect reference to such possibilities," he said of military
action.
But, he said, if the Security Council cannot bring Ethiopia
back into negotiations and filling begins, "We will find ourselves in a
situation that we will have to deal with," he said. "When that time
is upon us, we will be very vocal and clear in what action we will
take."
He called on the U.S and other Security Council members,
along with African nations, to help reach a deal that "takes into account
the interests of all three countries."
Sticking points in the talks have been how much water
Ethiopia will release downstream from the dam if a multi-year drought occurs
and how Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan will resolve any future disputes.
William Davison, senior analyst at the International Crisis
Group, said the Security Council taking up the issue likely won't change
Ethiopia's stance. "The U.S., EU, Gulf powers and African Union should try
and convince all parties to make the necessary final compromise to get an
agreement over the line," he said.
This month, ministers from the three countries held seven
days of negotiations by video conference, but talks ended Wednesday with no
deal. No date was set for a return to the table.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew told the AP on
Friday that filling the dam would begin with the rainy season in July and
dismissed the need for an agreement. He accused Egypt of trying to
"dictate and control even future developments on our river."
Egypt's Shukry on Sunday countered that Ethiopia was
backing out of previously agreed-upon points.
"We have on many occasions been flexible and been
accommodating. But I can't say that there is a similar political will on the
side of Ethiopia," he said.
He called Andargachew's comments "disappointing,"
pointing to "the escalation of antagonism that has been intentionally
created." Starting to fill the reservoir now, he said, would demonstrate
"a desire to control the flow of the water and have effective sole
determination" of the water that reaches Egypt and Sudan.
After the end of talks on Wednesday, Sudan's irrigation
minister said his country and Egypt rejected Ethiopia's attempts to introduce
articles on water sharing in the dam deal. Egypt has received the lion's share
of the Nile's waters under decades-old agreements dating back to the British
colonial era. Eighty-five percent of the Nile's waters originate in Ethiopia
from the Blue Nile.
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