Egypt and Ethiopia take dam dispute to Russia

• Tensions over the dam have flared between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan since construction began in 2011.
• With its completion now in sight, one critical question is how quickly the dam’s reservoir will be filled. “While Ethiopia wants to fill the reservoir within four years, Egypt wants a slower pace that can be varied in response to droughts,” per the FT.
• The longer-term concern is water loss. “With its population predicted to reach 120 million by 2030, Egypt is on track to hit the threshold for ‘absolute water scarcity,’” per CNN.
• Egypt is also concerned about the flow to its own massive dam — the Aswan High Dam — 1,600 miles downriver from Ethiopia’s.

What to watch: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister (and newly minted Nobel laureate) Abiy Ahmed will be among the 35 African leaders at the first Africa-Russia summit later this week.

• Sisi is calling for third-party mediation over the dam negotiations. Ahmed hasn’t agreed. But Vladimir Putin might see himself as just the man to step in.