In the US intelligence report obtained by the Washington Post there is talk of alleged conversations between al-Sisi and senior Egyptian military officials
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisione of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East and a major recipient of American aid, he recently ordered his subordinates to secretly produce up to 40,000 rockets to be sent to Russia. This is what emerges from a US intelligence document leaked in recent days.
The top-secret document, obtained by the Washington Post via Discord, an app popular with gamers, talks about alleged conversations between al-Sisi and senior Egyptian military officials and refers to plans to supply Russia with artillery shells and gunpowder. I shoot. The document highlights that on February 1 al-Sisi ordered officials to keep the production and shipment of the rockets secret “to avoid problems with the West”.
Again according to the leaked document, the Egyptian leader asks a person identified only as Salah al-Din to inform the factory workers that the bullets are intended for the Egyptian army. Salah al-Din is probably Mohamed Salah al-Din, the Minister of State for Military Production, who replies that he would “order his people to work in shifts if necessary because it was the least Egypt could do to repay Russia for help not specified above”.
The gunpowder offered to Russia would be produced by Factory 18, which is the name of an old chemical manufacturing plant. The document also mentions the Sakr 45s, but it does not explicitly say whether these rockets, which are compatible with the Grad multiple rocket launchers, are being produced for Russia.
“Egypt’s position from the outset has been based on non-involvement in this crisis and a commitment to remain equidistant from the parties, while affirming support for the United Nations Charter and international law according to the resolutions of the General Assembly of Nations Unite,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said of the document and the veracity of the reported conversations. “We continue to urge both sides to cease hostilities and reach a political solution through negotiations,” he added.
A US government official, speaking on condition of anonymity regarding Egypt’s alleged initiative to export rockets to Russia, explained that “we have not seen this happen” and “we are not aware of the execution of this plan”. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of confidential documents.
The document does not explicitly clarify why Russia is interested in acquiring the rockets, but in all likelihood this would be due to the need to cope with the huge quantities of ammunition used in Ukraine. According to the US government, North Korea is secretly supplying Russia with artillery shells and China is considering doing the same.
Moscow and Cairo have recently signed several significant agreements. Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned atomic energy company, began construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant last year. But perhaps most importantly, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine which hampered access to Ukrainian grain, Cairo began to rely heavily on Russian grain purchases. The deal has helped Egypt avoid grain shortages that could spark social unrest in a country where poverty is rife.
Source-www.adnkronos.com