CAIRO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said on Wednesday the recent meeting with Sudan and Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) hasn't ended with "positive results."
The ministry said in a statement that the meeting on Tuesday, also attended by observers from the United States, the European Union and the African Union, has not reached any significant result, as it focused only on procedural issues like the schedule of meetings, reference for discussion, and the role of observers.
The ministers of water resources from the three countries are expected to meet again on Wednesday to continue negotiations, with international observers present, according to the statement.
Egypt demanded to reach "a comprehensive agreement on filling and operating the dam by the end of the negotiations period on June 13."
The meeting on Tuesday took place following three weeks of a Sudanese initiative to see the three countries return to the negotiating table on GERD's filling and operation.
During the meeting, Egypt has requested Ethiopia "not to take any unilateral action until reaching an agreement," the ministry said.
Sudanese Minister of Water and Irrigation Yasser Abbas said in a statement on Tuesday that "the meeting took place in a positive spirit and provided fruitful discussions."
The tripartite negotiations stalled in February after Ethiopia skipped the final round of talks held in Washington. Of the three countries, only Egypt initialed the resulting draft agreement.
Egypt and Sudan rejected an Ethiopian agreement released on April 10 proposing a "partial agreement" that would only cover the first stage of the filling.
On May 1, Egypt sent a memo to the Security Council blaming Ethiopia for trying to establish a deal without considering the interests of downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. Enditem
