Moscow, Cairo discuss boosting ties
Representatives of Russia and Egypt seemed pleased with the outcome of their meetings this week, as they touched base on current regional developments and talked through their perspectives.
MOSCOW — With Moscow thinking about its post-Syria presence in the Middle East, building stronger ties with Egypt seems to be on the agenda.
On Aug. 21, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited the Russian capital to meet with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov. Prior to the visit, both parties sent strong and courteous signals of the importance of the encounter. Cairo emphasized that Moscow would be the first stop on Shoukry’s three-day trip, which included Lithuania and Estonia, while Moscow had been saying that Egypt is one of Russia’s leading partners in the Middle East and North Africa and that the two countries have been bound together by yearslong traditions of friendship, mutually beneficial cooperation and concurrence of approaches to regional and international issues.
After the meeting, Lavrov kicked off a press conference with Shoukry with the same statement on the importance of Egypt as Russia’s top regional partner. Essentially, as Moscow raises its voice on a number of regional issues, having Cairo share its vision is vital for the ultimate success of Russian efforts. In this respect, it’s no wonder Lavrov and Shoukry spent half of the time in the talks discussing Syria, Libya, Yemen and the Qatar crisis. Last week, state-operated RIA Novosti news agency, referencing a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry, reported the ministry was preparing Lavrov’s tour of the Gulf, set for Aug. 27-30, with the goal of placing Russia at the center of mediation efforts in the Qatar crisis. If this is the case, then checking in with Egypt — one of the countries boycotting Qatar — was something Moscow deemed necessary to do before Lavrov’s departure to the region.
Similarly, on the Yemeni track, hours into the Lavrov-Shourky discussions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov hosted Yemen’s newly appointed ambassador to Russia, Ahmed al-Wahishi. The two discussed the ongoing civil war in Yemen and the prospects of settling the conflict, advocating “a comprehensive national dialogue with due regard for the interests of all major political forces.”
