[News] Because of the Renaissance Dam ... a surprising US decision "against Ethiopia"

[HiTLeR]

 

In a surprising step in the course of US diplomacy related to the Renaissance Dam, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approved a plan to stop aid provided by his country to Ethiopia, at a time when US President Donald Trump's administration is trying to mediate a dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the thorny file.

According to the American "Foreign Policy" magazine, the decision taken this week relates to $ 130 million in US foreign aid to Ethiopia, while officials revealed that the details of the aid cuts have not been determined yet.

The magazine quoted US officials and members of Congress as saying that the American support that will stop will include security assistance and aid to combat terrorism and human trafficking, and the development of military education and training, while it will not include humanitarian relief, food and health assistance.

According to the source, the American move aims to put pressure on Addis Ababa to address the crisis with Egypt and Sudan regarding the Renaissance Dam, noting that the United States entered a few months ago on the mediation line between the three countries.

Last July, Ethiopia unilaterally and suddenly announced that it had completed the first phase of filling the dam's reservoir with water, in a move that had raised great reservations on the part of Cairo and Khartoum.

"There is still progress, and we still see a viable way forward," a US official told Foreign Policy about the negotiations.

But the decision to cut aid to Ethiopia is likely to face sharp opposition in the US Congress, according to sources who told the magazine that State Department officials briefed Congressional staff about the decision on Thursday, and insisted during the briefing that the relationship between the United States and Ethiopia would remain strong despite the aid cuts.

However, a source within Congress said in response: "This is a really illogical way to show a friend (Ethiopia) that you really care."

It is noteworthy that the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed visited Khartoum on Tuesday to discuss the issue of the dam with the Sudanese side, and Pompeo was in the same city and on the same day to meet with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdullah Hamdok, but the two did not meet.

In a statement issued after Pompeo's visit to the Sudanese capital, the US State Department said: “Secretary (Pompeo) and Prime Minister (Hamdok) agreed that achieving a beneficial agreement between Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt regarding the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is crucial to regional stability.”

After the visit of my father, the Ethiopian and Sudanese governments issued a joint statement saying that the two sides "will make every effort to reach a successful outcome of the current tripartite negotiations."