Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi greeted Putin. Russian flags and posters of Putin’s face hung across the capital. The state-run Al Ahram newspaper ran a weekend profile of him, with photos showing Putin shirtless and holding various weapons, headlined “A hero of our times.” From the airport, the two leaders headed to the Cairo Opera House, where the symphony was to play excerpts of “Swan Lake” and the opera “Aida.”
The Egyptian economy is still struggling after several years of instability that began with its 2011 revolt, and the government is courting investors. The United States, which provides the country up to $1.3 billion in annual military aid, partially suspended that funding following el-Sissi’s overthrow of an Islamist president in 2013 and his subsequent crackdown on dissent.
Russia, under Western sanctions over its support for separatists in Ukraine, has economic problems of its own, compounded by plunging oil prices. The leaders of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine aim to hold a summit Wednesday to renew a much-violated September peace plan for the conflict.
US President Barack Obama said Monday that without a resolution, “Russia’s isolation will only worsen, both politically and economically.”
Georgy Mirsky, a professor at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics, said the Egypt visit highlighted how Putin was seeking to show how Moscow still had friends around the world, even if it wasn’t in a position to support countries with aid as in Soviet times.
El-Sissi visited Russia last August to boost trade and military cooperation. Following those talks, Putin said Russia started supplying weapons to Egypt after signing a memorandum in March, but gave no details.
Egypt was Moscow’s closest Arab ally in the 1950s and `60s, when nationalist leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser turned away from US support to win Soviet backing for his drive to modernize the country and the military. Nasser’s successor, Anwar Sadat, broke with Moscow and evicted Soviet military advisers.
The Interfax news agency reported Monday that Russia currently has $3.5 billion worth of new arms contracts with Egypt, including fighter jets, helicopters, air defense missiles and other weapons. It said Egypt is one of the first foreign customers for Russia’s sophisticated Antei-2500 long-range air defense missile systems.
Russia said it would welcome more imports of Egyptian oranges, potatoes and other agricultural products as it sought to turn to other markets following its ban on the European and US food in retaliation to the Western sanctions. Russia also said it plans to expand grain exports to Egypt, which currently cover 40 percent of Egypt’s needs, according to the Kremlin.
