“These statements touch on the internal Egyptian scene,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said without elaborating.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Dina Mufti had reportedly criticised Egypt’s stance towards a disputed dam constructed by his country on the Nile. Mufti, an ex-Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt, claimed it manipulated the project to distract attention from internal problems.
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have been engaged in years-long negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Round of talks
In July, the three riparian countries started a new round of talks sponsored by the African Union without making any headway so far.
Egyptian officials have repeatedly blamed Ethiopia for the deadlock and accused Addis Ababa of playing for time.The Ethiopian dam has triggered wide fears in Egypt, which relies heavily on the Nile to cover the water needs of its population of over 100 million people.