Ethiopia says it will start filling the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in July, after Sudan rejected a request for a partial agreement without Egypt.

On May 13, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, in a letter to his Ethiopian counterpart, Dr Abiy Ahmed, said the issues regarding the dam need a tripartite agreement between Khartoum, Addis Ababa and Cairo, before the first filling.

The tripartite negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have stalled since February, when Ethiopia boycotted the talks accusing Sudan of using the US to put pressure on them.

Egypt now wants the issue be decided based on international law, and has reached out to the US, the Arab League and the UN to put pressure on Ethiopia.

Last week, Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, wrote a letter to the UN Security Council about Ethiopia’s unilateral move to fill the dam outside the tripartite discussions.