Thursday, October 31, 2013

I hear Carly Simon: COMING AROUND AGAIN - Egypt opens dialog with Moscow

YEs, it’s another triumph of foreign policy foresight.

Major military aid will start when crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood ends

The administration of President Barack Obama has outlined its new aid policy toward Egypt.
Officials said the administration would continue to withhold major combat platforms while releasing equipment for Egyptian border security and counter-insurgency operations.The officials said fighter-jets, main battle tanks and missiles would be stored until Egypt ends its military crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.
And then..

With U.S. security ties suspended, Cairo opens dialogue with Moscow

Egypt, in wake of a suspension of U.S. military aid, has turned to Russia for enhanced defense and intelligence cooperation.
Officials said Egypt and Russia have been conducting a high-level military dialogue amid the crisis with the United States.
The officials said Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah Sisi was mulling Russian offers of defense and military cooperation.
“Russia has always tried to sell Egypt advanced systems, but this might be more realistic given current circumstances,” an official said.
On Oct. 28, Russian military intelligence chief Gen. Vacheslav Kondrasco arrived in Cairo for what officials said marked an effort to renew a strategic dialogue between the Kremlin and Egypt.
Officials said Kondrasco was discussing Egypt’s military requirements and the prospect of Russian arms sales. Russia was the leading military supplier to Egypt in the 1960s and 1970s.

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