CAIRO (Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Monday, agreeing to resume civilian flights which Moscow halted more than two years ago after militants bombed a Russian tourist jet over the Sinai.
Putin’s latest visit to Cairo reflects the deepening ties between Russia and Egypt, the second largest recipient of U.S. military aid after the Zionist regime and a strategic U.S. partner in the Middle East because of its control of the Suez Canal.
Putin, who flew on to Turkey, briefly visited a Russian base in Syria before arriving in Egypt and ordered Russian forces to start withdrawing from Syria after a two-year military campaign there.
In Cairo, Egyptian and Russian ministers signed a $21 billion deal to start work on Egypt’s Dabaa nuclear power plant and Putin said Moscow was ready to resume Russian civilian flights to Egypt.