Another unsuccessful round of GERD talks wrap up: The fourth and final round of negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) wrapped yesterday without much success, the Irrigation Ministry said in a statement. The ministry blamed Ethiopia’s “persistent refusal” to accept any solutions proposed and accused Ethiopia of “exploiting the negotiation process as a cover to solidify a fait accompli on the ground.”

This may be the last round of talks for a long time: “As it stands, we will not be negotiating with Ethiopia again,”Irrigation Minister Hani Suweilam told Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi last night (watch, runtime: 5:49).

Ethiopia isn’t happy with Egypt’s statement: The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry called the statement issued by the Egyptian side a violation of the UN charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union, saying that it misrepresented Ethiopia’s position. Ethiopia said it “looks forward” to the resumption of negotiations and remains committed to reaching an “amicable and negotiated settlement” that works for all three countries.

Remember: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledged in July to finalize an agreement within four months.

Greece Defense Minister in town: El Sisi and high-level military officials met with Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Dendias to discuss military cooperation between the two countries, according to an Ittihadiya readout. The group also discussed Israel’s war on Gaza and agreed on the need to de-escalate the conflict and to push for a political solution.

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