Ethiopia is ready to return to the negotiating table with Egypt and Sudan — just not with international mediators. Addis Ababa “believes in resolving African problems by Africans,” and wants the African Union to continue with its sponsorship of the stalled talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Dina Mufti said yesterday, according to the Ethiopian News agency. Mufti’s statement comes in response to Sudan’s formal request — which he says Ethiopia wasn’t officially informed of — to bring in the EU, US, UN, and African Union to help mediate an agreement on the dam’s filing and operation.

The proposal came as talks have been floundering since last year after Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan were unable to reach a binding agreement on the GERD. The Associated Press also took note of Mufti’s statement.

ELSEWHERE IN THE REGION-

Palestinian factions vowed to ensure the success of the planned presidential and legislative elections and respect their outcomes, with Fatah and Hamas signing yesterday a “code of honor” to that effect during a meeting in Cairo yesterday, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports. The rival factions had agreed to hold the country’s first elections in 15 years simultaneously across the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem following a two-day emergency Arab League meeting in February on the Israel-Palestine peace process. The factions also agreed to set up the new Palestinian National Council.