Russia’s Middle East ship drops anchor in Suez Canal
Anchoring is not so simple as it seems. Determining the location, dropping the anchor, settling the hook and, most important, assessing where the vessel is going to end up – these involve complex maneuverings. The key is to ensure that the ship is sufficiently protected, has suitable holding ground, enough depth at low tide and enough room for the boat to swing.
To be sure, what emerges out of the two-day official visit by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to Moscow on August 25-26 is that Egypt has become a pivotal country for Russia’s Middle East policies
There is much poignancy in what is unfolding insofar as it harks back to the halcyon days of Soviet-Egyptian relations that ended with the departure of Gamal Abdel Nasser 45 years ago.
Looking back, President Vladimir Putin made a smart decision to back Sisi to the hilt when the latter snatched power from the elected president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Sisi’s coup, which was sponsored by Saudi Arabia, was viewed with distaste by most countries as a hopelessly reactionary development that might set the clock back in the democratic transformation of Egypt (and the Middle East as a whole). The brute use of force by Sisi to put down dissent and the popular opposition to the coup was found repugnant by the international community.
http://atimes.com/2015/08/russias-middle-east-ship-drops-anchor-in-suez-canal/
Comments:
1.) I don't think much of al Sisi myself.
2.) I would be surprised if Putin trades Iran for Egypt, though he will likely be happy to do business with both.
3.) So Bhadrakumar is not convincing to me here, but he makes some interesting observations and comments, and his argument has its merits.
