Exclusive: President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi in February planned to produce 40,000 rockets for Russia and instructed officials to keep production and shipment secret “to avoid problems with the West.,” according to a leaked U.S. intelligence document.
Egypt, like other American partners in the Middle East, has attempted to stay on the sidelines of Western nations’ standoff with Russia over Ukraine, as they seek a potential hedge against America’s declining role in the region and new means to ensure their economic and military security.
Michael Hanna, director of U.S. programs at the International Crisis Group, noted that the Biden administration has been leading Western efforts to deny Russia and its mercenaries technology and arms needed for its war in Ukraine and punishing American adversaries like Iran and“The idea that it would be Egypt in this role — that’s an embarrassment to the U.S.,” he said.
The document quotes Salah al-Din as saying he would “order his people to work shift work if necessary because it was the least Egypt could do to repay Russia for unspecified help earlier.” The document does not make it clear what the earlier Russian help was. The leaked document quotes Salah al-Din as saying the Russians told him they were willing to “buy anything.
In the document, Sisi is quoted as saying that he was considering selling “ordinary stuff” to China to make room for “more Sakr 45 production,” a reference to a type of 122mm rocket manufactured by Egypt. The document does not explicitly say whether the rockets that would be produced for Russia were Sakr 45s, but such rockets would be compatible with Russian Grad multiple rocket launchers.Provision of weapons to the Russian government might also trigger U.S. sanctions on Egypt.
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