After McKenzie’s statements… Is America putting pressure on Ethiopia to solve the Renaissance Dam crisis?

The United States of America has expressed its concern about the Ethiopian behavior on the issue of the “Renaissance Dam”, according to General Kenneth McKenzie, commander of the central region, and it is the first time since President Joe Biden took office. Will Washington put pressure on Addis Ababa during the coming period to resolve the crisis?

First of all, the Egyptian researcher specializing in American affairs, Emile Amin, says that the statement of the commander of the central region of the US army, in my opinion, is the strongest statement in recent months, because it was issued by an advanced military command. This means that there is a sense of imbalance and anxiety inside the US and in the Ministry of Defense in particular.

strongest statement
He added, in connection with “Sputnik”, that Washington had gone a long way in the crisis of the Renaissance Dam, but at the same time it could have put pressure on Ethiopia, which did not give a certain character to the American position, and it was without a clear color, but with this statement, we can We wonder, as observers of American affairs, are there pressures from the Pentagon that can be exerted on the White House?

Amin continued, “The Pentagon is considered an advanced antenna in the American administration, and is able to read the military scene and the dimensions of Egyptian strategic patience and the fateful dangers that Egypt is exposed to, and here I think that the Americans have reached the Egyptian red line, so this statement to the commander of the central region may refer to an event Or recent events if Washington does not take the initiative in order to calm the situation and resolve the crisis.

American initiative

The researcher in the American affairs explained that Washington must take the initiative in order to find solutions to the crisis, because any security defect in the Horn of Africa will affect American interests, especially since this defect will give influence squares to each of China and Russia greater than those acquired by the United States. The American loss will be double, in my estimation.

Amin stressed that the United States of America is the only one capable of exerting pressure on Ethiopia, and it has already exercised this during the past weeks, after imposing sanctions on Addis Ababa, although those sanctions are more related to human rights in the Tigray region, and the Americans know that the losses will inflict on them. If they fail more than that.

Washington can

In turn, the Egyptian expert in water affairs, Dr. Nour Ahmed Abdel Moneim Nour, indicated that the United States of America can put pressure on Ethiopia, but does it have the intention to do so, this is the question we are waiting for you to answer in the coming days?

He said in an interview with “Sputnik”, that the United States of America still has the ability to take international decisions and play a positive role with the concerned party, and when we study the matter well, we find that the statement of the commander of the central region of the US Army was preceded by a role for the former President of the United States of America. Trump, who was able to bring together all parties to the Renaissance Dam crisis in Washington, but did not ultimately take a positive decision towards resolving this issue, we must build on the head of state and not on the American military leadership, which is one of several branches.

Nour added, the former US president at the end of his term was unable to take a decision to impose a solution to the crisis, and said that Egypt is capable of taking military action against the dam, noting that Egypt does not beg for a decision, but rather searches for its historical, technical and legal rights with reason first and before going to other tools, we We do not want to harm anyone, but the other and those who help him are the ones who want to harm us.

Ethiopian position

Regarding the current scene in the Renaissance Dam crisis and where things will go, Nour said: The current scene is a recall of the previous scene. Ethiopia has stalled in the beginning and will procrastinate in the present and the future, and Egypt has no alternative but to negotiations in water affairs, which may take years even if the dam is completed. The Renaissance comes to an end. We will continue negotiations to search for a just, legal and binding technical solution, and this matter is available even after the final filling of the dam. We have been studying this matter for many years before starting to build the dam.

American concern
The US military expressed its concern over the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis, but at the same time praised the Egyptian behavior in this regard.

The commander of the US Central Command, General Kenneth McKenzie, said in a television interview with the Egyptian Nile Channel last Friday, that Washington is very concerned about the Ethiopian behavior regarding the Renaissance Dam crisis.

He added that Egypt is trying to reach a diplomatic and political solution, noting that the Egyptian leadership is exercising an enormous amount of restraint in this file.

McKenzie explained that Washington is seeking to find a solution that is acceptable to Egypt and the rest of the parties (Sudan and Ethiopia).

He also stressed that his country realizes the importance of the Nile River for the Egyptians.

Earlier, the US State Department called for the urgent resumption of negotiations on the Renaissance Dam, noting that the upcoming decisions will have significant repercussions on the peoples of the region.

It is noteworthy that the Egyptian Minister of Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, had confirmed earlier that his country would not accept unilateral action to fill and operate the Ethiopian dam, adding that the current negotiations track under the auspices of the African Union will not make any significant progress.

Last April, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned Ethiopia against “compromising Egypt’s water rights,” stressing that “all options are open.”

Ethiopia began building the Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile in 2011 with the aim of generating electricity. Egypt fears the impact of the dam on its share of 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water; Sudan fears the impact of the dam on the Sudanese dams on the Blue Nile.

All rounds of negotiations, which began about 10 years ago, failed to reach a binding agreement regarding the filling and operation of the dam.

Ethiopia has confirmed on more than one occasion its intention to complete the second filling of the Renaissance Dam in the rainy season, at the beginning of next July, regardless of the conclusion of an agreement with the two downstream countries. Egypt and Sudan consider Ethiopia’s second filling of the Renaissance Dam without reaching an agreement a threat to the national security of the two countries.

Egypt and Sudan previously proposed a four-way mediation involving the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and the African Union, while Addis Ababa adhered to the path supervised by the African Union.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump sponsored a round of negotiations, but it did not lead to positive results.