Ethiopia rejects Egypt’s GERD proposal: Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed Egypt’s proposal for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as “disrespectful” and one that “puts Ethiopia’s sovereignty under question,” according to the Ethiopian News Agency. Ministry spokesperson Nebiyat Getachew also said at a presser on Friday that the proposal would “complicate” the filling of the dam. Egypt’s proposal involves extending the time taken to fill the dam’s reservoir beyond two years in cases of extreme drought in the Blue Nile, and release a minimum of 40 bcm of water each year, as opposed to Ethiopia’s proposed 35 bcm. The statement came after Egypt said the new round of talks over GERD left the countries at a deadlock. Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan will hold a new round of talks between 30 September and 3 October in Khartoum to discuss technical issues. The countries’ irrigation ministers will then meet immediately afterwards on 4 and 5 October in an attempt to hash out an agreement.