Egypt rejects reports blaming it for Nile dam talks failure

CAIRO – Egypt has criticized reports blaming it for the failure of a recent round of talks with Ethiopia and Sudan to reach an agreement over Ethiopia's massive dam on the Blue Nile River, a tributary of the Nile River.

Thursday's statement by Egypt's Foreign Ministry says Egypt participated in last week's meeting in Khartoum "with a positive spirit and a serious desire to reach an agreement."

It says Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry called for another meeting with his Sudanese and Ethiopian counterparts in Cairo.

Earlier, Ethiopia's official news agency quoted its Foreign Ministry spokesman Meles Alem as saying that Egypt brought up the 1959 accord between Egypt and Sudan during the talks. Other Nile nations including Ethiopia say that agreement is unfair and ignores their own large populations' needs.