Egypt asks UN intervention to resolve Nile dam dispute

Egypt has requested the UN Security Council to intervene to resolve a dispute with Ethiopia over a controversial Nile dam project.

In a statement late Friday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said it asked the Security Council to "intervene to affirm the importance of the three countries resuming the negotiations with goodwill…to reach a fair and balanced solution” over the Ethiopian dam.

The ministry said the move came after negotiations to resolve the dispute over the Nile dam stalled “as a result of Ethiopian stances that are not positive".

Ethiopia is building a hydro-electric dam project on the Nile, which Egypt fears it would reduce its water share.

Negotiations between Cairo and Addis Ababa center on the pace at which Ethiopia fills the 74 billion cubic meter reservoir behind the dam and the impact that could have on water supplies downstream in Egypt and Sudan.

On Friday, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew said Addis Ababa will go ahead and start filling the dam next month, even without an agreement.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara