President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi discussed ways of boosting security relations between Egypt and Russia with Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergei Naryshkin in Cairo on Tuesday.
The meeting took place in the presence of the acting head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate Abbas Kamel, according to a statement from presidential spokesperson Bassam Rady.
Rady added that the Russian official delivered regards to the Egyptian president from Russian President Vladimir Putin, stressing his country’s appreciation for the Egypt’s role as a major actor in establishing peace and stability in the Middle East.
Naryshkin also pointed out the importance of security cooperation between the two countries at a time when terrorism is threatening the region and the whole world, according to the statement.
Al-Sisi praised Egyptian-Russian relations, expressing Egypt’s keenness on boosting these relations. He also briefed the Russian official on Egypt’s efforts in countering terrorism, calling for international cooperation in defeating terrorism, with no differentiation between the terror groups.
According to the statement, the meeting also discussed crises in the Middle East and ways of solving these crises in light of Egypt’s stable stance of believing in the necessity of supporting political solutions for these crises and respecting the sovereignty of every state in the region and its integrity.
Relations between Egypt and Russia have developed in the past four years since Al-Sisi came to power, as the two countries share the same points of view regarding the situation in Syria. Both countries support the Syrian regime against the Islamic State (IS) group and other groups fighting against it in Syria.
