Kremlin reveals details of Putin's phone conversation with al-Sisi

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation with Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi praised the efforts of Egypt and other countries in reaching agreements between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas. The Kremlin press service said on January 21.

"The situation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone was discussed in light of the agreement concluded the other day between Israel and the Hamas movement. In this regard, Vladimir Putin praised the mediation efforts of Egypt and a number of other countries to help reach agreements," the press service said in a Telegram channel message.

In addition, the two leaders exchanged views on the situation in Syria, drawing attention to the need to respect the sovereignty and integrity of the territories of this state, as well as ensuring the rights of all its citizens, despite their political beliefs and ethno-religious affiliation.

Putin and al-Sisi also discussed the development of bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, agricultural and humanitarian spheres. The Kremlin noted that in addition to this, the topic of the implementation of such joint projects as the construction of Egypt's first nuclear power plant (NPP) "El Dabaa" and the creation of the Russian industrial zone in the Suez Canal area was also considered.

"The mutual interest in further strengthening of friendly Russian-Egyptian relations was emphasized," the press service added.

Thetelephone conversation between the two presidents was reported earlier in the day by the Egyptian leader's office.

Earlier, on January 19, a ceasefire began to operate in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the Palestinian movement Hamas handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) three Israeli hostages - Romy Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. The next day, Israel released the first 90 Palestinian prisoners as part of the deal.

In October 2024, al-Sisi and Putin, in a joint statement, called for an immediate de-escalation in the Middle East region, which threatens to have dangerous consequences for the security of the entire world.

At the same time, during a meeting with the Egyptian president at the BRICS summit, the Russian leader said that Moscow is interested in developing cooperation with Cairo, a process that is proceeding at a steady pace. Al-Sisi, in turn, highlighted the intensification of trade in national currencies.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian radical movement Hamas subjected the territory of Israel to a massive rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. On the same day, Israel began retaliatory strikes.