“We cannot continue this vicious circle of circular talks indefinitely,” Sudan’s Irrigation Minister Yasir Abbas said in a statement.
However, Egypt and Ethopia in separate statements blamed Sudanese objections to the framework for talks for the new impasse.
Ethiopia sees the dam as key to plans to become Africa’s largest exporter of energy. Egypt, which gets more than 90% of its scarce fresh water from the Nile, fears the dam could devastate its economy.
Sudan said on Sunday it was concerned that the dam could overwhelm the nearby Roseires dam if an agreement is not reached allowing the countries to share data.
Ethiopia said in a statement by the State Department that, despite previously pushing for meetings with African Union experts, Sudan objected to their terms of reference and refused to involve the experts in the meeting, effectively halting the talks.
The protracted dispute between the three countries continued even after the reservoir behind the $ 4 billion dam began to fill in July.
“Sudan insisted that African Union experts be appointed to provide solutions to contentious issues … a proposal that Egypt and Ethiopia have reservations about,” Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on social media.
In its own statement on the state news agency SUNA, Sudan said it objected to a January 8 letter from Ethiopia to the African Union stating that Ethiopia was committed to filling the reservoir with 13.5 million cubic meters for the second year in July. of water, whether there is an agreement or not.
In its own statement on the social media of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia said it “immediately took the initiative to establish an effective and reciprocal data-sharing mechanism.”