Russia takes Egypt to itself
Now Russia is trying to oust the United States not only from Syria, but also from all over the Middle East. And in this region one of the key roles is played by Egypt, which has been steadily occupying a pro-Western position for several decades in a row.
Egypt was a faithful ally of the United States in all areas, including the military. Every two years, a joint American-Egyptian Bright Star exercise was held.
Some discord occurred after the "Arab Spring" and the subsequent decision of the Americans to condemn the ruling regime of Egypt for human rights violations. Then the cooperation was suspended for eight years. Although joint military exercises were held again in 2017 after a long break, there is reason to believe that relations between the US and Egypt are not as warm as they were before the “Arab Spring”.
Moreover, there are serious reasons to believe that Egypt could be involved in the Russian orbit of interests.
The history of the struggle of the USA and the USSR for Egypt
The competition for influence on Egypt between Russia and the United States did not begin yesterday. It happens a very long time. The United States understood the strategic importance of Egypt in this region. Even when the troops of Great Britain and France invaded this African country to prevent the nationalization of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean, American President Eisenhower sided with the Egyptians.
But even such a step by the Americans could not prevent the rapprochement of Cairo with the Soviet Union. True, this friendship did not last long, and Egypt reoriented to the United States. Some say that the professionalism of American diplomats helped, others - that it was a banal bribery.
Renaissance of friendship of Moscow and Cairo
It is hard not to notice the warming relations between Egypt and Russia, especially against the background of their easy cooling with Washington. A noticeable “bell” was the resumption of flights between Russia and Egypt, suspended after the terrorists bombed an airplane on which about 200 Russian tourists flew. This is especially important for a country where a significant part of its budget is tourism.
In addition, trade between Russia and Egypt is growing. Not the first year grain deliveries to this African country have been going on, and Egyptian potatoes and fruits are brought to Russia. But there are projects and much more significant. For example, the cost of joint construction of a nuclear power plant is $ 30 billion. At the same time, Egypt’s cooperation with the United States in this area was discontinued 10 years ago.
Military cooperation
As for military cooperation, it is also developing rapidly. The Russians supply Cairo with weapons to combat the militants of one of the branches of ISIS on the Sinai Peninsula. Also, Russia sent a special unit to help the Egyptians on the border with Libya. And this is happening against the background of the fact that the US Congress is hindering arms supplies to Egypt because of fears of human rights violations in this country.
Russia not only sells its weapons there, but also does not prevent Egypt from transferring it to third parties. And Cairo uses it to arm the pro-Egyptian groups in Libya, fighting the radical Islamists.
It has also become a tradition to hold Russian-Egyptian military exercises.
Watching all this, it comes as no surprise that Cairo refused the United States a request to send troops to Syria as part of a pro-American coalition.
If nothing changes dramatically, the United States will soon lose one of the key allies in the Arab world, and Russia will strengthen its position in the Middle East.
Egypt was a faithful ally of the United States in all areas, including the military. Every two years, a joint American-Egyptian Bright Star exercise was held.
Some discord occurred after the "Arab Spring" and the subsequent decision of the Americans to condemn the ruling regime of Egypt for human rights violations. Then the cooperation was suspended for eight years. Although joint military exercises were held again in 2017 after a long break, there is reason to believe that relations between the US and Egypt are not as warm as they were before the “Arab Spring”.
Moreover, there are serious reasons to believe that Egypt could be involved in the Russian orbit of interests.
The history of the struggle of the USA and the USSR for Egypt
The competition for influence on Egypt between Russia and the United States did not begin yesterday. It happens a very long time. The United States understood the strategic importance of Egypt in this region. Even when the troops of Great Britain and France invaded this African country to prevent the nationalization of the Suez Canal, connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean, American President Eisenhower sided with the Egyptians.
But even such a step by the Americans could not prevent the rapprochement of Cairo with the Soviet Union. True, this friendship did not last long, and Egypt reoriented to the United States. Some say that the professionalism of American diplomats helped, others - that it was a banal bribery.
Renaissance of friendship of Moscow and Cairo
It is hard not to notice the warming relations between Egypt and Russia, especially against the background of their easy cooling with Washington. A noticeable “bell” was the resumption of flights between Russia and Egypt, suspended after the terrorists bombed an airplane on which about 200 Russian tourists flew. This is especially important for a country where a significant part of its budget is tourism.
In addition, trade between Russia and Egypt is growing. Not the first year grain deliveries to this African country have been going on, and Egyptian potatoes and fruits are brought to Russia. But there are projects and much more significant. For example, the cost of joint construction of a nuclear power plant is $ 30 billion. At the same time, Egypt’s cooperation with the United States in this area was discontinued 10 years ago.
Military cooperation
As for military cooperation, it is also developing rapidly. The Russians supply Cairo with weapons to combat the militants of one of the branches of ISIS on the Sinai Peninsula. Also, Russia sent a special unit to help the Egyptians on the border with Libya. And this is happening against the background of the fact that the US Congress is hindering arms supplies to Egypt because of fears of human rights violations in this country.
Russia not only sells its weapons there, but also does not prevent Egypt from transferring it to third parties. And Cairo uses it to arm the pro-Egyptian groups in Libya, fighting the radical Islamists.
It has also become a tradition to hold Russian-Egyptian military exercises.
Watching all this, it comes as no surprise that Cairo refused the United States a request to send troops to Syria as part of a pro-American coalition.
If nothing changes dramatically, the United States will soon lose one of the key allies in the Arab world, and Russia will strengthen its position in the Middle East.
Information