Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi will head to Moscow on Friday to take part in celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported. Russian President Vladimir Putin had invited El-Sisi to attend the Russian celebrations, which are schedueled to take place on 9 May. The two presidents are expected to meet in Moscow on the sidelines of the celebrations. El-Sisi is also expected to meet with a number of Russian officials as part of his two-day trip. The Egyptian president first visited Russia in August 2014, while Putin made a trip to Cairo in February 2015. Russia was El-Sisi's first visit to a foreign country since he was sworn in as president on 8 June after a landslide victory at the polls. Cairo has sought to strengthen its ties with Moscow against the backdrop of strained ties with its long-time ally Washington since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Egypt had strong ties with Russia in the 1950s and 1960s, and the Soviet Union was the main supplier of arms to Egypt until the early 1970s. Relations soured after Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty bringing in some $1.3 billion in annual US military aid to Cairo in 1979. Forty percent of European tourists visiting Egypt are Russian. Source : Ahram online
