KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — An Ethiopian official said on Tuesday that his government opposes calls by Sudan for outside mediators including the United States in the ongoing dispute over Ethiopia’s construction of a massive hydroelectric dam on the Nile River. Dina Mufti, spokesman for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters that Ethiopia is generally opposed to mediation by outside parties even though the African Union is welcome to help. He said the tripartite talks between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam should be concluded between the three countries themselves, not through mediators. Mufti added that Ethiopia has “big respect for the African Union” and that the country “believes in resolving African problems by Africans.”
