Egypt military source denies deployment of Russian troops in Egypt

An Egyptian official military source yesterday denied what he described as “allegations” reported by Western media about the deployment of Russian special forces in an Egyptian airbase near the Libyan border.

On Monday, a media report claimed “unnamed” American officials and Egyptian security source had said that Russia has deployed special forces and unmanned drones at Sidi Barrani, about 100 kilometres from the Egypt-Libya border.

Read US: Moscow deployed forces to Egypt

In response to a question by an Anadolu Agency reporter, the Egyptian official who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject, said “this report is totally incorrect”.

The official described the news as a “fabrication meant to tarnish Egypt’s image”.

“Egypt is a sovereign country and does not accept the deployment of foreign troops on its territory,” he said.

In October, Egyptian presidency spokesman, Alaa Youssef, denied a similar report published by Russia Today about negotiations between Cairo and Moscow to allow Russia to hire a military base in the west of the country. “Egypt will not allow the presence of foreign military bases on its territory.”

Egyptian-Russian relations have significantly improved under the rule of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi despite Moscow’s recent decision to suspend flights to Cairo after a Russian plane crashed in Sinai.