Africa-Press – Ethiopia. Addis Ababa June 1/2021 (ENA) Russia supports the AU-led tripartite negotiation on the GERD and all appropriate measures should be made during the second phase of filling the dam as per the Declaration of Principle agreed by the three countries, Vsevolod Tkacheko, African Affairs Director at Russia Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Russia, Alemayehu Tegenu and Tkacheko had discussion in Moscow, Russia.
Following the briefing he was given by the Ethiopian ambassador, the director stated the Russian position by saying that his country supports the AU-led tripartite negotiation on the GERD and pointed out that all appropriate measures should be made during the second phase filling of the dam as per the DoP agreed by the three countries.
He also said that Russia strongly believes in non-interference in domestic affairs of other countries and it is against sanctions imposed unilaterally by the stronger nations on the weaker ones.
According to Tkacheko, the border dispute between Ethiopia and the Sudan should be resolved through peaceful mechanisms by coming round the table and make genuine talks for the common benefits of the two nations.
Briefing the Russian director, Ambassador Alemayehu explained in detail about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) tripartite negotiation and pointed out that Ethiopia strongly supports the AU-led process.
He stressed that Ethiopia won’t abide by the Colonial-Era Treaties made on the Nile River without its participation and will go ahead with the second filling of the dam this coming rainy season as scheduled.
With regard to the situation in Tigray Regional State, Alemayehu updated Tkacheko on the overall effort of the government in assisting the internally displaced persons and bringing the region to normalcy again.
The decision of the U.S Administration to impose visa restrictions on Ethiopian officials was ill-advised and it will seriously undermine the long-standing and important bilateral relationship between the two countries, he noted.
According to him, it is also regrettable and unacceptable to treat the Ethiopian Government on equal footing with the terrorist TPLF and the government cannot be compelled by anybody to sit down and negotiate with it.
On the Ethio-Sudan Border dispute, he said the peoples of the two nations don’t deserve unnecessary conflict that can be resolved through bilateral negotiation by using the existing mechanisms.
The peoples of the two neighboring nations have the same destiny and they should fight together against their common enemy, poverty.
