Egypt and Russia discuss massive Gulf-funded arms deal

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, met on Thursday with the commander of Egypt’s military coup, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, at the Kremlin in Moscow.

According to Egyptian media, the two discussed a Gulf-funded deal to provide Egypt with $2 billion worth of advanced Russian weapons. The deal reportedly includes jet fighter aircrafts (MiG-29), attack helicopters and missile systems.

The Egyptian army has been relying on American-made weapons and military aid for more than three decades, but after the recent coup against former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Washington decided to suspend some of its military aid to Cairo.

Meanwhile, the head of Egypt’s Committee of 50 for drafting the Egyptian constitution, Amr Moussa, stated that after his latest meeting with Al-Sisi he has concluded that Al-Sisi has already come to a decision about running in the upcoming presidential elections, and that his official announcement is only a matter of time.

Other Egyptian sources mentioned that Al-Sisi is currently working on writing his candidacy announcement speech. But although Putin told the media on Thursday that he backs Al-Sisi’s “bid for the presidency”, Al-Sisi still has not formally announced his intentions.