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According to The Washington Post, Egypt was secretly negotiating a massive sale of weapons and gunpowder to Russia.
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The revelation was made public via a leaked top secret document, which surfaced on Discord.
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The US has said there is no evidence that Egypt sold the 40,000 missiles to Russia, the Post reported.
A leaked US intelligence document blew the lid on secret arms negotiations between Egypt and Russia, in which Egyptian President Abel Fattah El-Sisi planned to supply the Kremlin with tens of thousands of missiles.
The Washington Post obtained a series of classified files posted to the gaming platform Discord in February and March. One of the files contains detailed conversations between senior Egyptian officials about arms sales to Russia.
In one document, Sisi instructs officials to keep the shipment and massive arms production secret, “to avoid trouble with the West.”
The top-secret document, dated Feb. 17, includes discussions by Egyptian officials about how to supply their Russian counterparts with gunpowder and artillery from Egyptian factories, according to the Post.
Egypt has long been a US ally, receiving more than $1 billion in military aid annually, while also deepening relations with Moscow under El-Sisi’s rule, according to the Post.
The revelation first reported by the Post could have a chilling effect on US-Egypt relations and potentially lead to sanctions if Egypt did indeed covertly deliver the weapons to Russia.
Last week, a trove of classified US documents leaked online, revealing new wrinkles about the Russian campaign in Ukraine and important details about Ukraine’s military.
It is still unclear who leaked the documents, which could be of great concern to the US, as some of the documents contain classified analysis on China, detailed breakdowns of Russia’s and Ukraine’s strategies in the war, and information about confidential sources.
The Pentagon has formally referred the leak to the US Department of Justice to investigate.
Ahmed Abu Zeid, Egypt’s ambassador to the US and spokesman for the country’s foreign ministry, told the Post that “Egypt’s stance from the outset has been based on non-involvement in this crisis and a commitment to maintain equal distance with both sides, while reaffirming Egypt’s support to implement the UN Charter and international law in UN General Assembly resolutions We continue to urge both sides to cease hostilities and reach a negotiated political solution come.”
US security officials told the Post that the big arms deal never seemed to get off the ground in recent months.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Read the original article on Business Insider
