Egyptian, Russian ministers to start discussions on Monday

CAIRO - 13 May 2018: For the fourth round, the capital city of Russia, Moscow, will witness negotiations between the Egyptian and Russian ministers of Defense and ministers foreign Affairs on May 14.

Ahmed Abu Zaid, official spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign affairs, declared on Saturday that the discussions between Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and his Russian counterpart will focus on ways to develop bilateral relations in all sectors.

This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Egypt in December 2017 that witnessed the signature of the Al Dabaa Nuclear station agreement between the two countries.

The flights between Egypt and Russia resumed in April 2018 after a hiatus due to the crisis of the Russian plane that crashed in Egyptian territory in 2015.

The strategic talks between the Egyptian and Russian sides were launched in November 2013, making Egypt the sixth country to commit to strategic discussions with the Russian officials, after the USA, France, Italy, UK and Japan. This reflects the special strategic relationship between the two countries.

Abu Zaid added that both the Egyptian and Russian sides will tackle during their meeting all the significant regional issues as well as all the conflicts and challenges ahead. The Syrian, Libyan and Yemeni crises will also be discussed, along with means of co-operation between both sides to combat global terrorism.

The first meeting between both sides was held in November 2013, the second was held in Moscow in February 2014 and the third was in Cairo in May 2017.