US President Donald Trump accused the Egyptian Ministry of Defense of using US aid to buy Russian military equipment.
Commenting on the bill passed by Congress on the Covid-19 bailout package, Trump said members of Congress had not even read the contents of the bill, which he said contained “$ 85.5 million to help Cambodia, $ 134 million to Myanmar, and $ 1.3 billion to Egypt, with which the Egyptian army will go to buy almost exclusively Russian military equipment.”
Egypt recently bought Russian Su-35 aircraft, which are expected to arrive in the North African country in 2021. They also bought missiles and other types of weapons from the Russian Federation, despite receiving financial assistance from the United States.
In recent years, the Egyptian military has increased its purchases from Russia, making Egypt one of the biggest buyers of Russian weapons in Africa.
Trump has called for the bill to be amended, warning that he will not sign it.
