Russia, Egypt Close To Signing $3.5 Billion Arms Contracts

Russia and Egypt have initialed arms contracts worth $3.5 billion, head of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin said Wednesday. 

Russian defense industry officials Sergei Chemezov earlier told RIA Novosti that arms exports to Egypt would include deliveries of small arms, air defense systems and artillery. 

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi discussed the creation of a free-trade zone between Egypt and countries of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, the report added.

The issue was also raised during a Joint Russian-Egyptian Commission on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation meeting in March. 

On Tuesday, the Egyptian government proposed that Russian automobile manufacturer AvtoVAZ launch joint projects with local state holding Nasr, the report concluded.