Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, leader of one of America’s closest partners in the Middle East and a major recipient of US aid, recently ordered officials to produce up to 40,000 rockets to be covertly shipped to Russia, The Washington Post reported on April 10, 2023, citing a leaked US intelligence document.
“Avoid problems with the West”
According to the document, dated February 17, Sisi told officials to keep the production and shipment secret “to avoid problems with the West.” The document also referred to supplying Russia with artillery rounds and gunpowder, Al Jazeera reported. The rockets may have been Sakr 45 models compatible with Russian Grad launchers, though the document did not say so explicitly.
An anonymous US official told the Post that the US was not aware of the plan having been carried out.
Denials
A senior Egyptian official told Al-Qahera News that the report was “informational tampering that has no basis in truth.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Egypt’s position was “based on noninvolvement in this crisis.”
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on April 11 that the US had “seen no indication that Egypt is providing lethal weaponry capabilities to Russia,” calling Egypt a “significant security partner.”
$1.3 billion in aid
The US provides Egypt with about $1.3 billion in military aid each year, and a sale to Russia could trigger US sanctions. Senator Chris Murphy said that if the report was true, the relationship would need a serious reassessment.
The document was among dozens of classified Pentagon files leaked online, whose disclosure is being investigated by the US Justice Department.
Sources
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