Egypt opposes US request to arm Ukraine

  Egypt has rejected Washington's request to send weapons to Ukraine because of its attempts to remain neutral in the war in Ukraine. According to The Wall Street Journal, Egyptian officials have in recent months ignored repeated US requests for the production of artillery shells and other weapons needed for Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces in the Donbas region. Washington turned to Egypt with a request to provide Ukraine with artillery, anti-tank missiles, air defense systems and light weapons. These requests have been raised on several occasions, including at a meeting between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo in March. While the Egyptian parties did not definitively reject these requests in discussions with US officials, Egyptian officials in private say that Cairo has no plans to supply weapons to Ukraine.

Washington, apparently, still has not received this message. American pundit and journalist Jared Malsin says: "Washington's failure to engage Egypt comes at a 'critical moment' in the Ukraine conflict." At the same time, a US State Department spokesman expressed optimism about Egypt's support for Ukraine and said: "Our consultations with our Egyptian partners regarding our common interests in ending the war with Russia are productive and ongoing." It is noteworthy that, given the long and extensive relationship between Egypt and Russia, Cairo opposed Washington's request to lower the level of relations and not help Russia. Including Egypt, in May 2023, ignored the request of the United States to close its airspace to Russian military aircraft. Although Egypt is one of America's longtime allies, which annually receives more than a billion dollars of military aid from it. However, Egypt, under the rule of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has clearly expanded and deepened relations with Russia in recent years.

It seems that the unanswered US request by Cairo for the flight of Russian aircraft, and now a negative response or at least ambiguity regarding the sending of weapons intended by Washington to Ukraine from Cairo, is another sign of the decline of the growing US influence among its allies in Western Asia and North Africa. The important point is that Egypt's actions to allow Russian aircraft to fly over the country to reach Syria were not Cairo's only actions in cooperation with Moscow. Earlier, according to one of the secret documents of the Pentagon, released recently, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi planned to provide Russia with tens of thousands of missiles at the height of the war in Ukraine. According to this document, al-Sisi ordered his officials to keep the shipment and mass production of missiles secret in order to avoid problems with the West. Of course, Cairo abandoned its alleged plan to sell these missiles to Russia under American pressure. Given the continuation of the war in Ukraine, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is trying to maintain good and balanced relations with Washington and Moscow, and for this reason he refused to join the US-led campaign to arm Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Egypt's disregard for America's anti-Russian demands is one of the symbols of Washington's declining influence in Arab capitals. Cairo's approach led to requests in the US Congress to punish Egypt. In this regard, some members of Congress have asked the Biden administration to stop $320 million of the total $1.3 billion in annual US military aid to Egypt, citing the country's human rights situation. Arab countries united by the United States, including Egypt, in recent years, for various reasons, including distrust of the US in fulfilling its security obligations, as well as strengthening relations with powers opposed to US dominance, especially Russia and China, have followed the process of separation and taking positions and actions contrary to the wishes and goals of Washington. These countries, including Egypt, are not prepared to scale back their extensive relationship with Russia or join the West's anti-Russian camp in order to preserve their interests and in line with America's goals.