Sudan FM denies reports about Ethiopia's diversion of Blue Nile course

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour denied on Sunday media reports about Ethiopia's diversion of the Blue Nile’s course to run through the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The released video is old and we cannot rely on it, he told Egyptian reporters on the sidelines of the six-way talks on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, now held in Khartoum.

This issue will be probed by technicians and experts of the three countries, he noted .

Ghandour said this matter will not affect the course of negotiations now held in Khartoum.

He also called on media outlets to narrow gaps among Egyptian, Sudanese and Ethiopian peoples in a manner that serves the interests of the three countries.

The Khartoum-hosted meeting will discuss a technical report prepared by Egypt to chose a new consultancy office to complete technical studies on the Ethiopian dam instead of the Dutch office, which announced its withdrawal in September, Ghandour said.

He expected the meeting to come up with "positive outcomes".

Egyptian Ministers Sameh Shoukry of Foreign Affairs and Hossam Moghazy of Irrigation and Water Resources left Egypt on Saturday for Khartoum for the second round of the six-way talks on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The meeting comprises the ministers of foreign affairs and water resources of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Shoukry and Moghazy said the meeting is scheduled to address the repercussions of establishing the dam and its impact on the Nile water quota allocated for Egypt and Sudan.

The six-party meeting tackles technical aspects of the deadlocked Renaissance Dam talks.

The first round of the six-party meeting was held on December 11.

The three states have previously agreed on the importance of holding the six-party meeting ahead of the tripartite meeting of irrigation ministers only to find a way to expedite technical studies on the dam.

The last tripartite meeting failed to achieve a breakthrough so that it was important to hold the six-party meeting.

The Dutch company - that would be in charge of 30 percent of the workload - announced its withdrawal in September, but Egypt rejected allowing one consultancy firm to be in charge of the studies.