BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:00 P.M.) – Egypt is not backing down to the U.S. threats about acquiring the Russian-made Su-35 jets, as the North African country has vowed to take hold of these aircraft, regardless of Washington’s warnings.
According to professor of political science at Helwan University, Maged Botros, said that Egypt has nothing to worry about because prior U.S. threats to countries like Turkey proved fruitless.
“The US is bluffing. They have been threatening other countries too, including Turkey who was warned not to purchase Russia’s S-400 missile systems but nothing has happened,” he told Sputnik, pointing out that “Egypt is a sovereign state and nobody, including Washington, can dictate to us about what to do.”
Since the deal was first announced, reports have surfaced about U.S. diplomats threatening Egypt’s government regarding the acquisition of these 4th generation supersonic multi-role jets.
Washington sees this deal as a major issue because the aircraft are less expensive, capable of carrying more missiles, and flying farther than some of America’s fighter jets.
According to Botros, Egypt is trying to move away from U.S. military dependency, while also seeking to improve its armed forces’ capabilities.
“It was then that Cairo understood the true meaning of the proverb: a friend in need is a friend indeed, and when [President Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi came to power [in 2014] he made sure to let the Americans know that from now on, Egypt’s dependency on Washington was over”, said Botros.
Botros believes Egypt is looking to balance their relations with world powers like the U.S., China, and Russia, which may not sit well with Washington, but is important to President Sisi.
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For Botros that policy made perfect sense. “Never in a million years will be willing to put all our eggs in one basket, the way it was before 2014. Egypt has learned a lesson and we will not repeat past mistakes”, explained the expert.
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