{UAH} From Russia with Endorsement// Putin supports al-Sisi as Egypt's President

 

Folks;

 

If you are at home in international affairs, this developing news from Russia should nudge you to scratch your head.

 

 

al-Sisi wants Russian weapons on credit and some hard cash; Egypt is heavily indebted to Saudi Arabia, which is Russia's rival in the civil war in Syria, and Egypt is largerly dependant on US freebies.

 

Somehow, in the midst of this vulnerability, Cairo still wants the world to take it seriously as a major power in the Middle East. Go fugure.

 

Pojim

 

 

 

 

Russia's Putin Endorses al-Sisi as Egypt's Next President

By Karl Vick 30 minutes ago

President Vladimir Putin of Russia gazed levelly into the eyes of his guest, Field Marshal Abdullah Fatah al-Sisi, and spoke strongman-to-strongman. "I know that you, Mr. Defense Minister, have decided to run for President of Egypt," Putin said.

That seems to be what Sisi is telling people—though even open secrets can be denied. Last month the Egyptian military specifically denied a report in Kuwait newspaper quoting Sisi as saying he was, indeed, running. It's been two weeks since the Egyptian Armed Forces announced  a "mandate" for their boss to stand for president, his posters are everywhere in Cairo, but apparently he's waiting for just the right moment. If it did not come in Moscow, at least he would bring home an endorsement. "This is a very responsible decision, to take upon yourself responsibility for the fate of the Egyptian people," Putin said. "I wish you luck on my own behalf and that of the Russian people."

It was a meeting of minds, and a throwback to bygone days. Back in the Cold War, Egypt was one of the countries that could profitably play Washington against Moscow. The two were closely matched in their epic global competition and paid for the allegiance of a developing nation with lavish disbursements of military aid, which did double duty — lashing the client to the side of the donor while arming it against the rival.

For decades, Egypt was armed by the Soviet Union. But when President Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, his reward was an annual outlay from Washington averaging $2 billion, or $70 billion in total.

But a portion of the current disbursement has been held back by the Obama administration, in hopes of guiding the generals' behavior in the wake of the July 3, 2013 coup that ejected the elected Islamist led by President Mohammed Morsi, a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood. Obama's slight infuriated the Egyptians and brought Putin's foreign minister to Cairo in November—and Sisi to Moscow this week. There, around a polished table in the Kremlin, the strongmen are negotiating an arms deal reports put at $2 billion.

But the Cold War is over, and there is the small matter of the bill. Russia expects to be paid for its air defense system and other materiel, and Egypt is pretty much broke. Morsi never took the International Monetary Fund loan that was dangled last year, because taking it would have required his government to sharply raise the price of bread and gasoline (by removing inefficient and market-distorting but extremely popular subsidies). The interim government backed by the generals has also avoided the IMF, relying instead on some $12 billion from well-oiled patrons in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia.