The US is expressing discomfort with the Egyptian purchase of Russian Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets. The Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, spoke this Tuesday (23) with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, and one of the relevant topics in the conversation was the purchase of Russian fighter jets.
According to the Defense World website, Blinken said the US is looking closely at Egyptian plans to buy Su-35s for $2 billion.
“The secretary raised concerns about human rights, which he emphasized would be critical to the US-Egypt bilateral relationship and Egypt’s potential acquisition of Russia’s Su-35 fighter jets,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
In addition to the purchase of Russian fighter jets, Cairo is considering the purchase of 50 Russian Ka-52K helicopters.
These news regarding Egypt refer to something that happened with Turkey, which bought the Russian S-400 air defense system, however, such a purchase did not please the US and it decided veto the sale of F-35A stealth fighter jets to the Turks.
