Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Dina Mufti stated, "Our option is peace to resolve the border dispute with Sudan," affirming that "war is unlikely."
Mufti emphasized that Addis Ababa rejects international involvement in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue and insists on adhering to the Declaration of Principles Agreement, while adhering to African Union sponsorship for GERD negotiations. In contrast, amidst the dispute between Sudan and Ethiopia and the GERD crisis, the Sudanese and Egyptian armies signed an agreement for military cooperation in training and securing borders. This agreement follows a few months after the first of its kind visit to Khartoum by leaders of key branches of the Egyptian armed forces, which was followed by joint air maneuvers, also the first in the military cooperation history between the two parties.
In early November, the Ethiopian federal army launched a war against the Tigray region, which borders Sudan, taking advantage of Ethiopia’s preoccupation to reclaim its territory in the Fashqa area that had been occupied by Ethiopian militias and farmers for nearly 27 years. Days later, the Sudanese negotiating delegation withdrew from the GERD discussions, and Khartoum's position, which had strongly supported the GERD, shifted to rejecting Ethiopia's intention to unilaterally fill and operate the dam.
Meanwhile, a high-ranking Egyptian military delegation, led by the Chief of Staff and commanders of the Air Force, commando, and paratroopers—the most important branches of the Egyptian army—visited Sudan for the first time in the history of military cooperation between the two countries. This was followed by joint maneuvers of the Sudanese and Egyptian armies for the first time in their history at Merowe Air Base in northern Sudan, named "Nile Eagles 1." The agreement was signed for Sudan by Chief of Staff General Mohamed Osman al-Hussein, and for the Egyptian side by Chief of Staff General Mohamed Farid, who arrived in Khartoum leading a high-ranking military delegation. Security and strategic expert General Hanafi Abdullah stated that there are existing agreements between Khartoum and Cairo, but the details become activated during meetings like the ones held between the Sudanese and Egyptian armies in recent days in Khartoum.
