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Egyptian Leader's Son Heads to Moscow

Jamie Dettmer

   MOSCOW - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, dubbed by critics
   "Putin on the Nile," is set to boost his burgeoning relationship with
   Russia by dispatching his son, Mahmoud, to Moscow as a military
   attache, independent regional media outlets are reporting.

   Russian officials say they welcome the prospect of Mahmoud el-Sissi
   being based in Moscow.

   The reassignment would coincide with an open rupture between Cairo and
   Washington over Egyptian plans to buy advanced Russian warplanes.

   In Washington, a senior U.S. State Department official Thursday
   threatened the Cairo government with sanctions if Egypt goes ahead with
   a $2 billion agreement to purchase more than 20 Su-35 fighter jets, a
   deal the relocated Mahmoud el-Sissi would likely oversee as military
   attache.

   Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the Trump
   administration was still discussing how to address its defense needs
   with Egypt adding that U.S. officials "have also been very transparent
   with them in that if they are to acquire a significant Russian platform
   like the Sukhoi-35 or the Su-35, that puts them at risk towards
   sanctions."

   The United States has provided billions of dollars in economic and
   military aid to Egypt, a longtime ally, whose military has been
   operating the U.S.-supplied F-16 fighter. Moving his son to Moscow is
   seen by Western diplomats here as a signal to Washington by el-Sissi of
   his intent to go ahead with buying the Su-35s.

   "He's playing hardball with Washington," said a Western diplomat based
   here, who asked not to identified for this article.

   According to independent media, Mahmoud el-Sissi's reassignment,
   planned for next year, has the added benefit for Egypt's president of
   moving his son out of the spotlight in Cairo. His role as a top
   official in the country's domestic and foreign intelligence agency, the
   General Intelligence Service, has prompted turmoil within that agency,
   as well as growing public criticism of his father for not curbing his
   son, who has also been drawing allegations of corruption.

   General Intelligence Service sources told Mada Masr, an Egyptian online
   newspaper, the reassignment to Moscow is "based on the perception
   within the president's inner circle that Mahmoud el-Sissi has failed to
   properly handle a number of his responsibilities and that his
   increasingly visible influence in the upper decision-making levels of
   government is having a negative impact on his father's image."

   Russian President Vladimir Putin has been intensifying his engagement
   with Middle Eastern and North African leaders, and seeking to rebuild
   Russian influence in the region, clout that was lost after the collapse
   of the Soviet Union, according to analysts. Some analysts see the
   re-engagement as an effort to safeguard established strategic
   interests. They cite as an example Russian intervention in Syria, where
   Moscow has its only Mediterranean naval base and needed to prop up the
   government of President Bashar al-Assad if it wanted to ensure its
   continuance.

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