US says Egypt risks sanctions if it buys Russian fighter jets | World Defense

US says Egypt risks sanctions if it buys Russian fighter jets

Falcon29

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US says Egypt risks sanctions if it buys Russian fighter jets

Buying Su-35s would also jeopardise future arms purchases from the US, State Department official says
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Egypt risks sanctions if it goes ahead with the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets, a US official said on Monday, highlighting the threat the potential deal posed to longstanding military ties between Washington and Cairo.

"This is something they [Egypt] already know: it puts them at risk of sanctions and it puts them at risk of loss of future acquisition," R Clarke Cooper, US Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs, said at the Dubai Air Show.

The US stance poses President Abdel Fattah El Sisi with a dilemma: buy the Russiam aircraft and jeopardise close relations with Washington, or drop the deal and discredit his policy of diversifying weapons procurement for the armed forces.

Under Mr El Sisi, Egypt has purchased weapons worth billions of dollars from France, Germany and Russia, including attack helicopters, submarines, troop carriers, fighter jets and frigates. At the same time it has continued to benefit from Washington’s decades-old military aid programme, worth $1.3 billion annually, to buy American-made tanks, armoured vehicles, F-16 jets and Apache helicopter gunships – weapons it has used in its years-long battle against Islamist militants waging an insurgency in the northern Sinai Peninsula.

"To be fair to Cairo, there is opportunities that they're pursuing with the United States," Mr Cooper said. "We've had a strategic relationship with Egypt for years. Egypt has certainly been a provider and guarantor of regional security ... there are other neighbours of Egypt that are appreciative of what they've provided in counter-terrorism. We encourage Egypt to consider how they have been successful."

Mr El Sisi, a general-turned-president who has been in office since 2014, has also cultivated close political and economic relations with China, Russia, Western Europe and Sub-Saharan African nations as part of a more balanced foreign policy than was the case under Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s leader of 29 years who was forced to step down in 2011 in the face of a popular uprising.

News of US opposition to the proposed Su-35 purchase emerged last week. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Egypt's defence minister that Cairo would face sanctions if it went ahead with a $2bn deal to buy more than 20 of the Russian jets.

“Major new arms deals with Russia would – at a minimum – complicate future US defence transactions with and security assistance to Egypt,” Mr Pompeo wrote in a letter seen by the Journal. There has been no comment on the leaked letter from the Egyptian government or in local media.

The sanctions are stipulated under a law known by its acronym CAATSA, or the Countering of America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. A case study of how the law will be applied is the recent purchase by Turkey, a Nato member, of a Russian-made S-400 air defence system.

“It is not clear exactly what will happen,” Michael Hanna, senior research fellow at the Century Foundation, New York, said of the Turkey case. “But it could be a big problem for Egypt-US relations if the Egyptians go ahead with the Su-35 deal. There will most likely be sanctions.”
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Lieutenant

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I heard Egypt has requested F-35 but the US refused to sell. If the US is going to keep abandoning its allies then it's normal they would look for other suppliers.?
 

TomCat

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I heard Egypt has requested F-35 but the US refused to sell. If the US is going to keep abandoning its allies then it's normal they would look for other suppliers.?
Hmm, how could they even dream of F-35 let alone request... In the trump administration, USA has lost it’s monopoly.
 

Scorpion

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I heard Egypt has requested F-35 but the US refused to sell. If the US is going to keep abandoning its allies then it's normal they would look for other suppliers.?
Hmm, how could they even dream of F-35 let alone request... In the trump administration, USA has lost it’s monopoly.

Russia receives first applications for Su-34 deliveries from foreign customers

Here it goes.

DUBAI, November 18. /TASS/. Russia received the first applications for export version of Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft, Head of Rosoboronexport (part of Rostec) Alexander Mikheyev told reporters at the Dubai Airshow 2019 on Monday.
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"We are working on it. Several partners even flew these aircraft [Su-34]. So we are waiting for decisions, we are working on marketing. There are applications," Mikheyev said.
Sukhoi Su-34 multirole supersonic fighter-bomber is designated to strike enemy ground and air targets day and night in any weather conditions. The Su-34 carries long-range air-to-surface and air-to-air missile armament with the multi-channel employment capability. The Su-34 has an operating range of 4,000 km, can develop a maximum speed of 1,900 km/h and is capable of carrying a weapon payload of up to 8 tonnes. The Su-34 is half as noisy as earlier models.

 

Falcon29

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Best choice for Egypt would have been to continue with F-16 blk 60 /70 e.g.

I don't think they get anymore, it was part of a 30 year peace treaty deal which ended around the end of Obama's term. The US then signed another 10 year military aid grants for Israel but I don't think Egypt will get anymore military equipment from the US. Just economic aid.
 

Falcon29

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Btw I thought Egypt already got some Mig fighters and AA(S300 variant) from Russia? Why the sanctions threat now then?
 

Falcon29

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Russia slams US threats to Egypt for purchasing Su-35 fighters as ‘aggressive behavior’

The United States is promoting its geopolitical interests by imposing ready-made solutions on other countries rather than by using the principles of free competition, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said
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MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The US threats to Egypt for the possible purchase of Russian Su-35 fighters are an example of aggressive behavior, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"We have paid attention to the threats. These are direct threats by US officials to impose sanctions against Egypt because it is considering buying Russian Su-35 fighters. This is very aggressive behavior and a fresh example of such aggressive behavior," the Russian diplomat stressed.

The United States is promoting its geopolitical interests by imposing ready-made solutions on other countries rather than by using the principles of free competition, Zakharova said.

"Possibly, the answer is that this [American] armament won’t withstand competition," the diplomat added.

Russia’s partners across the world, including Egypt, prefer to make independent decisions. They are guided by the price-quality ratio, the Russian diplomat pointed out.

"To my mind, this tactic of threats by the US has fully played itself out. By attempting to crank up pressure on other countries, the United States is only undermining its trust and driving the world to ponder over abandoning trade settlements in US dollars," the Russian diplomat indicated.

Turkey, which is a NATO member, has made its choice in favor of Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, "despite all American intimidations, arm-twisting and threats," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
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