By Tarek Chouiref
ISTANBUL (AA) – Egypt on Tuesday said it has submitted a letter to the UN Security Council warning against Ethiopia’s unilateral operation of its new Nile dam, describing the move as a “breach” of international law.
In the letter, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Addis Ababa’s inauguration of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) was “an unlawful unilateral act” that cannot be legitimized.
“Any misconceptions that Cairo would turn a blind eye to its existential interests in the Nile are pure delusions,” the letter said, stressing that Egypt “will not allow Ethiopia to impose unilateral control over shared water resources.”
Cairo said it reserves the right to take all measures permitted under international law and the UN Charter “to defend the existential interests of its people.”
The Ethiopian government inaugurated the GERD on the Blue Nile on Tuesday after 14 years of construction, a project that has long been disputed by downstream nations Egypt and Sudan over its filling and operation.