RUSSIA – EGYPT – SYRIA: THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

RUSSIA – EGYPT – SYRIA: THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW STRATEGIC ALLIANCE 

Christof Lehmann (nsnbc).  Fri, Feb 14th, 2014 

http://nsnbc.me/2014/02/14/russia-egypt-syria-emergence-new-strategic-alliance/  

[here only extracts]

Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met in Moscow on Thursday and announced that Egypt and Russia will be strengthening their military, technical and trade cooperation and joint efforts in countering terrorism. The announcement comes, as an emerging, new strategic balance in Northern Africa and the Middle East is being consolidated.

The spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Badr Abdul-Atti described al-Sisis’s visit to Russia as historic and said that the visit aims at deepening cooperation between the two countries. Abdul-Atti stressed that Egypt had independently made the decision to achieve significant progress in the relations between the two countries, especially in the trade and military domains, reports SIS (State Information Service. Egypt)

Abdul-Atti’s statement countered western weasels reports about Al-Sisi’s visit to Moscow. Especially US-media had difficulties digesting that the attempt of the USA, other core NATO States, Qatar and Israel, to destabilize Egypt with the aid of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and factions within Hamas, and the attempt to co-opt the Egyptian military for the war on Syria has failed.

The NYT clearly could not resist conveying the impression that the Russian Bear had to approve who is running for the office of president in Egypt. Stressing that:

“Putin has been looking to expand Russia’s influence in the Middle East” and that he was “eager to welcome his visitor and encourage his ambitions”

What the NYT does not consider is that neither Al-Sisi, nor the Egyptian people require the endorsement of the NYT or that of the Obama administration, regardless how much they wish that the USA still had that influence.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul-Atti stressed that fact and added, that Egypt and Russia also have discussed strategies to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He stressed that Egypt and Russia have had a cooperation in the military sector since the 1950s and added that “such cooperation would be promoted”. He noted, that an agreement had been reached to hone up the military competence of the Egyptian Army.

Al-Sisi described his visit to Moscow as a new beginning of a military and technical cooperation between Egypt and Russia and that such cooperation would benefit both countries. He added that Egypt currently is facing a difficult time and challenges, topped by terrorism.

The meeting between Al-Sisi and Putin, and Al-Sisi’s decision to run for the office of president further consolidate the emerging new strategic balance in the Middle East, Northern Africa and the Mediterranean. It is a balance between the emerging BRICS block and the US-led Western block.

It is also a new, emerging balance between the strategic partners Iran and Russia, and a Russian signal to Tehran with regard to Iran’s partially active, partially passive support of Western-led Muslim Brotherhood “revolutions” and Muslim Brotherhood governments in the region.
Ch/L - nsnbc 14.02.2014

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