For international dealings of top importance, Moscow in recent years has greatly favored the “2+2 format,” sending defense and foreign ministers out together for high-level talks with their foreign counterparts. The mixture of diplomatic and military, widely employed by Russia in its latest foreign policy activities, is believed to reflect what an official in the Kremlin once called “a growing convergence of foreign policy, defense and security-related issues in world affairs.” The agenda Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed with their Egyptian colleagues during their May 29 visit to Cairo definitely falls into this category.
Still, as Russian media outlets noted, Shoigu and Lavrov experienced very different receptions from the Egyptians. While the former was escorted in a showy motorcade accompanied by vehicles equipped with mobile phone jammers and gun slots on the sides, the latter was rather modestly taken on a bus to the embassy motorcade. This contrast led many in Moscow to speculate that military issues were of a much bigger priority for Egyptians during the visit. The perception of Shoigu as the messenger of President Vladimir Putin in these and other talks isn’t groundless. According to the latest survey, the defense minister is Russia’s second-most-trusted politician (18.5% of respondents) following Putin himself (49.9%) and preceding Lavrov (15.3%). With Russian military having been in the public eye more frequently in recent years, Shoigu’s position in the overall defense and foreign policy apparatus is strong and solid — at least for now.
