Ethiopian media says Egypt “blocked” GERD talks: Trilateral talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan this week saw no progress because Egypt did not back down from its demands on the conditions of the dam’s filling and operation, an anonymous source close to the matter tells Ethiopia’s Addis Standard. Ethiopia appears to have rejected a request to link the GERD to the Aswan High Dam, which a second source says is at the center of a proposal tabled in Cairo earlier this week, and agreeing to a minimum guaranteed flow of 40 bcm of water upstream. The three countries’ representatives are next due to sit down in Washington on 9 December to assess the outcome of the first two rounds of talks.