Russia surprised by attempts to link cooperation with Ethiopia on Renaissance Dam

The Russian Foreign Ministry has rejected attempts to link Moscow’s techno-military cooperation with Addis Ababa on the issue of the Renaissance Dam, RT Arabic reported on Friday.

Moscow has called for not politicising the issue in order to avoid causing tension among the different sides of the issue.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry, Russia urged the ongoing differences among Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to be resolved based on the declaration of principles agreement made in Khartoum in 2015, and the understandings reached by the three countries.

Construction machinery stands in the center of the dam wall at the site of the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region of Ethiopia, on Tuesday, May 21, 2019. [Zacharias Abubeker/Bloomberg via Getty Images]

The statement added: “We were surprised by the attempts to link our cooperation with Ethiopia with the uneasy and lengthy negotiations among Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. We call for not politicising the construction of Ennahda Plant for hydroelectric energy in order to avoid a potential tension among the countries connected with this issue.”

In July, Russia and Ethiopia signed a military cooperation agreement that, according to a Russian statement: “Will be focusing on transforming capacity of the [Ethiopian] national defence force in knowledge, skill and technology spheres.”

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