Putin Backs Sisi’s Run for Egyptian Presidency

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday endorsed Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s undeclared bid to head the strife-torn North African nation as the two leaders negotiated a massive Moscow weapons deal

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday endorsed Egyptian army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's undeclared bid to head the strife-torn North African nation as the two leaders negotiated a massive Moscow weapons deal.

Sisi came to Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy for talks aimed at securing Russian assistance -- stagnant since the late Soviet era -- that could replace subsiding support from Cairo's more recent ally Washington.

Putin Putin told Sisi that Moscow fully backed Egypt's new constitution and crucially made no mention of Cairo's crackdown on protests or the army-backed overthrow in July of Islamist President Mohammed Mursi.

"I know that you, mister defense minister, have decided to run for president of Egypt," Putin told Sisi in televised remarks.

"I wish you luck both from myself personally and from the Russian people."

The 59-year-old Egyptian field marshal has not actually declared his presidential ambitions but is overwhelmingly predicted to run in elections expected to be held later this year.

A Kuwaiti newspaper quoted Sisi as saying last week that he had "no choice but to meet the demands of the Egyptian people" and run for head of state. The army later denied the report.

Sisi would have to give up his title as head of the Egyptian armed forces in order to contest the election.

Sisi and Fahmy earlier on Thursday met their Russian counterparts to negotiate a $2-billion arms deal the two sides initially discussed in Cairo in November -- a month after Washington suspended millions of dollars in assistance to the Egyptian army over Morsi's ouster.

"Our visit offers a new start to the development of military and technological cooperation between Egypt and Russia," Sisi told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

"We hope to speed up this cooperation," Sisi said.