The Arab League on Tuesday called on Ethiopia to “refrain” from starting to fill the reservoir of the large dam it is building on the Nile, before an agreement is reached with Egypt and Sudan.

It calls on Ethiopia not to “fill the reservoir of the Renaissance Dam without having concluded an agreement with downstream countries”.

Ethiopia has indicated that it will start filling the reservoir of the dam in July, even without an agreement with Cairo and Khartoum.

The Arab League meeting comes after last week’s failure of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

The Blue Nile, which originates in Ethiopia, joins the White Nile in Khartoum to form the Nile, which flows through Sudan and Egypt before flowing into the Mediterranean Sea.