Egypt may have planned to secretly supply missiles to Russia — The Washington Post
U.S. intelligence documents obtained by the publication indicate Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi planned to produce 40,000 missiles for Russia in February. Egypt is one of the closest allies of the United States in the Middle East and the largest recipient of US aid.
The secret documents, dated February 17, describe alleged conversations between Sisi and high-ranking Egyptian military officer Salah al-Din. The conversation mentions plans to supply artillery shells and gunpowder to Russia. In the document, Sisi instructs officials to keep the production and supply of missiles secret "to avoid problems with the West." This probably refers to Mohammed Salah al-Din, Minister of State for Military Production.
US Senator and member of the Foreign Affairs and Appropriations Committees Chris Murphy told the publication that "Egypt is one of our oldest allies in the Middle East", and therefore "if it is true that Sisi is secretly building missiles for Russia that could be used in Ukraine, we should seriously consider the state of our relationship".
According to the WP, the document quotes Salah al-Din as saying that he "will order his people to work in shifts if necessary, because it is the least Egypt can do to repay Russia for the help it has provided in the past."
"Although the document does not indicate how the US government obtained the details of the discussions, some of the information contained in the newly released documents appears to come from radar intelligence, which uses technical means to intercept communications. The U.S. government has long had ample opportunity to eavesdrop on and intercept communications of foreign leaders," the newspaper writes.
It is noted that the conversation with Sisi took place a few days after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with the Egyptian president during a visit to Cairo. Immediately after Blinken's visit, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to Moscow for talks with Russian leaders.
