A leaked U.S. intelligence document said that ally nation Egypt is planning to build and secretly ship 40,000 rockets to Russia, The Washington Post reports.
According to the report, the leaked document from February claims that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi held conversations with top military officials, ordering them to build 40,000 rockets and send them covertly to Russia "to avoid problems with the West."
"Egypt is one of our oldest allies in the Middle East," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations committees, told the Post. "If it's true that Sisi is covertly building rockets for Russia that could be used in Ukraine, we need to have a serious reckoning about the state of our relationship."
The revelation comes as part of a trove of classified material leaked from the Pentagon that has appeared on various Internet sites in February and March.
As of April 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of State said the United States has provided Egypt more than $50 billion in military aid and $30 billion in economic assistance.
The agency also listed a $604 million investment in "digitizing" that nation's telecommunications sector, $5.9 billion to help modernize infrastructure, $350 million in scholarship and exchange opportunities to more than 23,000 students and mid-career professionals, as well as providing $100 million to preserve Egyptian heritage.
Trade between Egypt and the United States was estimated at $9.1 billion in 2021, the highest level ever, according to the agency.
"Egypt is the United States' largest export market in Africa. U.S. exports to Egypt include wheat and corn, mineral fuel and oil, machinery, aircraft, and iron and steel products. U.S. imports from Egypt include apparel, natural gas and oil, fertilizers, textiles, and agricultural products," the agency's report said.
"The idea that it would be Egypt in this role — that's an embarrassment to the U.S.," Michael Hanna, director of U.S. programs at the International Crisis Group told the Post.
Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesman for Egypt's Foreign Ministry, denied the information in the document to the Post and said Egypt is neutral regarding Russia's Ukraine war.
"Egypt's position from the beginning is based on noninvolvement in this crisis and committing to maintain equal distance with both sides, while affirming Egypt's support to the U.N. charter and international law in the U.N. General Assembly resolutions," he told the Post. "We continue to urge both parties to cease hostilities and reach a political solution through negotiations."
Despite the information in the classified document, a U.S. government official told the Post that the intelligence community is not aware of the plan's execution.
"We have not seen that happen," the official told the outlet on Monday.
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