CAIRO: Russia will supply Egypt with military technology and helicopters designed for Mistral-class warships, RIA Novosti reported Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov as saying Monday.
The deal, which will make the two vessels “warships in every sense of the word,”may amount to over $1 billion, Ivanov added.
Despite its struggling economy, with the pound being depreciated four times in 2015 to reach 7.93 against the U.S. dollar, Egypt signed a contract with France to buy the two warships Oct. 10, among other big military deals made by Cairo in the past two years.
However, many of Egypt’s military deals are funded by some Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
The advanced ships were originally meant to be delivered to Russia, but Paris canceled the deal and refunded 950 million euros ($1 billion) to Moscow.