Putin, Sisi to tackle issues amid Jerusalem developments

CAIRO – 9 December 2017: The Russian president’s visit to Egypt is important because of the ‘cold relationship’ between Moscow and Cairo after the Russian airplane was downed in Sinai on October 31, 2015, a political expert stated on Saturday.

Amr el-Deeb, an expert at Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod University, asserted that the anticipated visit by President Vladimir Putin to Cairo on December 11 is a significant visit, following the recent developments in Jerusalem after the U.S. administration announced the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city on Wednesday.

Egyptian-Russian mutual interests

El-Deeb noted that the agreement to establish the Dabaa nuclear station would see major progress during the visit, adding that “Egypt signed, two days ago, an agreement to exchange expertise with the Czech Republic in the field of peaceful nuclear energy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin will witness the signing of an agreement to establish an Egyptian-Russian industrial city in the Suez Canal area during his upcoming visit to Egypt, stated Chairman of the Egyptian-European Business Council Mohamed Abul Enein on Saturday.


Russian tourists are shown leaving the country after their vacations, at the airport of the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 6, 2015. (Photo: Reuters)

He mentioned that the Russian factories and firms are keen on operating in Egypt even if they do not make a financial profit because they seek to establish a geo-economic relationship with the Middle East and Egypt in particular.

On the return of Russian tourism to Egypt, el-Deeb expressed his wishes to settle this issue during the upcoming visit in Cairo, describing it as an “issue of security, not politics.”

The Syrian Crisis


Free Syrian Army fighters prepare mortar shells before firing towards forces loyal to Syria's president Bashar Al-Assad on the outskirts of Doreen town, in Jabal al-Akrad area in Syria's northwestern Latakia province, March 8, 2015- Reuters

Sisi and Putin have previously exerted sincere endeavors to resolve the Syrian crisis which has resulted recently in many ceasefire agreements.

“The Russian announcement about the end of fighting ISIS was the final step before determining the Syrian future which should be tackled by the two countries during the visit in Cairo,” el-Deeb added.