The relationship between Egypt and Russia is a complex and evolving one, marked by periods of close cooperation, strategic alignment, and occasional discord. These relations have deep historical roots, dating back centuries, and have been shaped by a variety of factors, including geopolitical interests, economic considerations, and shared ideological perspectives.
Early Relations
Relations between Russia and Egypt have a long history, dating back to before the 16th century. Early on, they were centered on the Russian government's and the Russian Church's support for the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
As early as in 1556, Patriarch Joachim of Alexandria sent a letter to the Russian Tzar Ivan IV, asking the Orthodox monarch to provide some material assistance for the Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai Peninsula, which had suffered from the Turks. In 1558, the Czar sent to Egypt a delegation led by archdeacon Gennady, who, however, died in Constantinople before he could reach Egypt. From then on, the embassy was headed by a Smolensk merchant, Vasily Poznyakov. Poznyakov's delegation visited Alexandria, Cairo, and Sinai, brought the patriarch a fur coat and an icon sent by the Tzar.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, Russia supported the Mamluks of Egypt against the Ottomans. The Russians sent multiple expeditions to the Levant.
Soviet Era: A Strategic Alliance
A significant milestone in the relationship came in 1956, during the Suez Crisis.
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In the 1950s, Gamal Abdel Nasser's independent and anti-imperialist policy earned him enthusiastic support from the Communist government of the USSR. In 1955, Egypt made a major arms deal with Soviet Union, and from then, teams of Egyptian officers were trained in Eastern Bloc countries. Czechoslovak instructors also came in 1956, to train Egyptian personnel in the use of Soviet weapons.
When France attacked Egypt during Suez Crisis, USSR threatened to use destructive weapons i.e. During the Nasser years, many young Egyptians studied in Soviet universities and military schools.
On May 27, 1971, the Soviet-Egyptian Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation was signed between the two countries, but relations were nevertheless declining. In July 1972, it was claimed the Egyptian government expelled Soviet military advisors from Egypt, however new research indicates that this was disinformation to hide Egypt's offensive plans, and captured Egyptian documents demonstrate that Soviet advisors continued in their previous roles of training Egyptian troops, and were certainly present during the war in 1973.
During the Yom Kippur War, Soviet Union sent several thousands of tonnes of aid to Egypt. Brezhnev threatened to intervene on behalf of Egypt if Israel broke the ceasefire. Lieutenant General Anatoly Pushkin claimed that 1500 Soviet pilots and air defense experts engaged in combat for Egypt during the war.
In March 1976 Egypt abrogated the friendship treaty, and relations between the two countries were damaged once again when Egypt supported the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan when the USSR invaded in 1979.
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In September 1981, these relations were severed by the Egyptian government, accusing Soviet leadership of trying to undermine Sadat's leadership in retaliation to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.
Resumption of Relations
Relations were reestablished under president Hosni Mubarak in 1984, and Alexander Belonogov became the Ambassador.
In April 2005, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, visited Egypt, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak visited Russia in April 2008. Both countries agreed to work together to help Egypt create a nuclear program which is mostly for civilian purposes.
Relations between the two countries improved even further following the removal of Mohamed Morsi from office in July 2013.
In November 2013, Egypt's then Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy met with their Russian counterparts, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who were on a visit to Cairo. Since then, Egyptian and Russian leaders have exchanged two rounds of four-way visits in both Cairo and Moscow.
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Sisi made his second visit on August 12 at the Black Sea resort of Sochi, and it was his first to a non-Arab or African country since his inauguration as president two months earlier. During the visit, both him and Putin agreed on boosting bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Putin promised to speed up arms sales to Egypt. "We are actively developing our military and technological cooperation," Putin told Sisi.
Modern Era: Strategic Partnership
In October 2018, Egypt signed a strategic partnership agreement with Russia, which Sisi described as a “new chapter in the history of bilateral relations between Moscow and Cairo.” Since this agreement, Russia and Egypt have expanded their ties in the economic, security, and diplomatic spheres.
Economic Cooperation
Over the past year, Russia’s economic ties with Egypt have expanded in a variety of spheres. From 2017 to 2018, the value of Russian-Egyptian bilateral trade increased by 37 percent and this growth has resulted in a slew of new economic deals.
In February, Sisi ratified an Egypt-Russia economic agreement enabling a Russian Industrial Zone to operate in the Suez Canal Economic Zone. In April, Sisi approved the construction of the Dabaa nuclear power plant, which would be developed by Russian state nuclear energy giant Rosatom.
The expansion of Russia-Egypt trade links prompted Putin to announce on Oct. 13 that Russia was trying to create a free trade area including Israel and Egypt that would resemble its trading arrangement with Iran.
Egypt has also emerged as a top destination for Russia’s booming wheat exports. About one-third of wheat coming to Egypt (which desperately relies on wheat imports to offset shortages) originates from the Russian Federation.
Security Cooperation
The expansion of Russia-Egypt security cooperation since both countries’ ratification of a strategic partnership agreement has been equally noteworthy. Russia’s completion of a $1.5 billion deal to sell 20 Su-35 fighter jets to Egypt in March 2019 has gained widespread attention, but the Moscow-Cairo security partnership extends deeper than transactional links.
In October 2018, Egypt hosted joint Defenders of Friendship drills with Russian paratroopers and air force personnel. These drills built on the historic June 2015 Russia-Egypt naval drills in the Mediterranean Sea, and gave Moscow an opportunity to advertise its aircraft and anti-air systems to observer countries, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Serbia, and Greece.
On December 9, 2021, Russia and Egypt launched a joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Alexandria. The Russian navy deployed the frigate Admiral Grigorovich, a mainstay of its Mediterranean Squadron, part of the Black Sea Fleet, along with a patrol ship and a rescue boat. Egypt contributed a frigate, two corvettes, and a support vessel. Coming in the wake of a new cooperation protocol signed by the two countries’ defense ministers back in August, the drill highlights Moscow and Egypt’s ever closer relations.
Diplomatic Coordination
While the crystallization of Russia’s economic and security links with Egypt is a compelling sign of a stronger bilateral partnership, the expansion of Moscow’s coordination with Cairo in the diplomatic sphere is also striking. In June, a Russian-Egyptian two-plus-two summit was held between the foreign and defense ministries of both countries, which included discussions on Syria and Libya. This dialogue reflected the alignment of positions between Russia and Egypt on these crises.
Egypt’s willingness to support President Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s least-bad option provides an opening for dialogue with Russia. President Trump’s Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA) proposal as a positive step, as it coincides with Moscow’s efforts to sell its vision for collective security in the Persian Gulf to Arab countries.
Cultural and Ideational Bonds
The sustainability of the Russia-Egypt strategic partnership has also been enhanced by cultural and ideational bonds. These links were crystallized during the 2016 Grozny Conference, where religious scholars from both countries expressed their opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafism.
In September, the chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis, Sheikh Ravil Gaynutin, and the head of the Egyptian Awqaf Ministry, Mohammed Mokhtar Gomaa, discussed cooperation on Islamic education at an international conference on Islam in Russia.
Russia’s resolute opposition to popular unrest in the Arab world has further strengthened the cohesion of its partnership with Egypt. After large anti-government demonstrations broke out in Egypt in late September, Russian state media outlets lent immediate support to Sisi’s contention that the Muslim Brotherhood was responsible.
Russia as a Key Player in the Middle East
For Russia, Egypt remains a key player in the Middle East and North Africa. Starting from the mid-2000s, Moscow has gradually made a comeback to the region after a decades-long hiatus. Russia’s intervention in Syria from the autumn of 2015 onwards-securing the Assad regime-elevated its role as a powerbroker in local politics.
Thanks to the war, Russians have not only expanded their political and diplomatic footprint, but also established and strengthened ties with all major power blocs and players, including Iran, Turkey, the Gulf monarchies, and Israel. Russia has displayed flexibility in navigating power rivalries in the region. For instance, it has connections to both Iran and its adversaries/competitors.
Shared Ideological Perspectives
Egypt likewise looks at Russia as a desirable partner-part of it is ideological convergence. Back in the early 2010s, the Kremlin was highly critical of the Arab Spring, warning against the threat it posed to domestic and regional stability. It furthermore raised alarm about the rise of “radicalized political Islam” a challenge it confronted in the Northern Caucasus as well as in its Central Asian backyard. This is very much in tune with the narrative of the Sisi regime.
Even though Moscow engaged with Muhammad Morsi, welcoming him on a state visit in April 2013, his ouster in al-Sisi found much greater support in Russia than in the West after the takeover in July the same year.
Military and Economic Support
In September 2014, Egypt and Russia sealed a $3.5 bn deal for the purchase of MiG-29M2 fighter jets, Ka-52 helicopters and Antey-2500 anti-ballistic missile systems. At the time, the Obama administration had frozen some transfers of equipment to Cairo while the EU had imposed an arms embargo. Russia therefore not only helped al-Sisi in resisting outside pressure, but also sided with his effort to bring Egypt back into Middle Eastern power politics. In the aftermath, the Russian defense industrial complex found a lucrative market. In 2018, for instance, Egypt started procuring 31 Su-35 fighter jets, a transaction worth $2 bn.
Russia and Egypt have found themselves on the same side in the conflict in Libya. They both threw their weight behind Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) and the House of Representatives based in the east of the fragmented country. Mercenaries from the Wagner Group, headed by the Kremlin-connected businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, spearheaded the offensive against Tripoli in late 2019 to early 2020. Since the latter’s failure, both Egypt and Russia have distanced themselves from Haftar and engaged with the Government of National Unity formed as a result of UN-led dialogue.
Tourism and Trade
Last but not least, Russia and Egypt are bound together by robust economic ties. By the early 2010s, Red Sea resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh attracted around 3 million tourists annually from the Russian Federation-about a third of all foreign tourists visiting Egypt. Numbers went down after a Russian charter flight was downed by a terrorist attack in 2015 and, more recently, due to COVID-19.
On 23 August 2023, at the 15th BRICS summit, Russia along with the other members of BRICS formally invited Egypt to join the organization.
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Challenges and Future Prospects
| Area of Cooperation | Details |
|---|---|
| Trade | Increased bilateral trade, free trade area discussions |
| Security | Arms sales, joint military exercises |
| Diplomacy | Aligned positions on Syria and Libya, two-plus-two summits |
| Culture | Shared opposition to Muslim Brotherhood and Salafism, cooperation on Islamic education |
| Economics | Russian Industrial Zone in Suez Canal, Dabaa nuclear power plant |
It is tempting to see the current phase as a replay of the special relationship Egypt and the Soviet Union enjoyed at the height of the Cold War. Indeed, between the mid-1950s and the early 1970s, Egypt was Moscow’s principal ally in the Middle East. The Soviets provided weapons, economic assistance, and technical expertise to the Arab country.
Yet, as ever, the analogy with the Cold War could be misleading. Neither Egypt nor Russia sees the relationship as of vital strategic significance. Cairo’s main allies and sources of financial support are the Gulf monarchies. desire to extricate itself from the Middle East, America remains high on Egypt’s diplomatic agenda. Russia, for its part, is no replica of the Soviet Union. Outside Syria, its footprint in the region remains relatively light. as hegemonic power in the Middle East and North Africa, a role that entails a great deal of responsibilities and costs. Egypt is one amongst a wide array of partners Moscow transacts with in the pursuit of diplomatic and economic gains.
Going forward cooperation between Moscow and Cairo is expected to remain strong across the board. But there won’t be long-term commitment by either party. Russia and Egypt will remain friends but this will not lead to a formal alliance. On the contrary, al-Sisi will continue to balance between Russia and Western powers such as the US and France. In the new Middle East, defined by a reduced American presence, this comes as a natural choice.
Policymakers routinely question the strength of Russia’s relationship with Egypt, recent events suggest that the Moscow-Cairo strategic partnership might be consolidating in numerous spheres. Russia’s efforts to arbitrate the Egypt-Ethiopia dispute over Nile River access suggest it is possible that African security issues might become a new frontier for bilateral cooperation with Egypt.
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