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CAIRO, Feb. 29-- As Egypt announced Saturday it has signed in Washington a U.S.-sponsored agreement regarding Ethiopia's controversial giant dam, Ethiopia expressed disappointment over the move that followed a meeting without Ethiopia's participation. Egypt said it has signed a U.S.-brokered deal regarding the rules of filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), urging Ethiopia and Sudan to follow suit. "Egypt looks forward to the acceptance by Sudan and Ethiopia of this agreement and their signing of it at the earliest possible juncture, since it is a fair and balanced agreement that achieves the common interest of the three countries," said the ministry statement. A ministerial meeting of the water and foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan was scheduled to be held in Washington on Feb. 27-28 to crystalize a final agreement on the rules of filling and operating the GERD. However, Ethiopia said a day before the meeting that it would not take part in the talks in Washington "because of unfinished consultation with national stakeholders." Egypt expressed on Saturday its rejection of "Ethiopia's unjustifiable absence from this meeting at this critical stage in the negotiations." But Ethiopia said it had notified Egypt, Sudan, and the United States that it needed more time to deliberate on the process. "Ethiopia, as the owner of the GERD, will commence the first filling of the GERD in parallel with the construction of the dam in accordance with the principles of equitable and reasonable utilization and the causing of no significant harm," the Ethiopian foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. | 
