Cairo: A current visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Egypt marks both countries’ interest in building a strategic partnership amid a growing anti-US sentiment in the Arab region, analysts have said.

Putin arrived on Monday in Cairo for his eighth meeting with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi since February 2014.

Cairo-Moscow ties have been lukewarm since late 2015 when a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai, killing all the 224 people on board, prompting Russia to halt its flights to Egypt.

“Despite some difficulties currently facing the Egyptian-Russian ties in the fields of aviation and Russian tourists’ return, their relations are ... [poised] to enter the stage of a long-term strategic alliance,” Hassan Abu Taleb, an expert at the state-run Al Ahram Centre for Political Studies said.

“This possibility is backed by grim realities in the Arab region and major changes in the world system,” he told Gulf News.

Putin’s visit comes less than a week after US President Donald Trump recognised occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced the relocation of his country’s embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv, upending Washington’s decades-long policy on the status of the holy city.

Trump’s move unleashed outrage in the Arab world and called into question its world leadership.

“There are increasing signs that the world system is undergoing radical changes, which will no longer allow one power to lead the world. A group of superpowers from across the world will emerge, acting in a totally different way from the US behaviour. Russia will be one of these powers,” Abu Taleb said.

In September 2015, Russia launched a military campaign in strife-torn Syria, an action that has since tipped the balance in favour of embattled Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad against Western-backed rebels.

Earlier Monday, Putin met with Al Assad at a Russian airbase in Syria.

“Russia is sparing no effort in order to establish its global and regional status by adopting a multi-course policy,” said Abu Taleb. “Now that the page of its direct military intervention in Syria is closing, Russia is planning to establish its foothold in the region south of the Mediterranean, a plan based on military, political or economic links. Russia previously had a long history of cooperation with Arab countries in this region.”

Last month, Russia said it was negotiating an agreement with Egypt that will allow the mutual use of each other’s airports. So far, there has been no official comment in Egypt, a key regional US ally.

In Abu Taleb’s view, mutual interests prompt Egypt and Russia to forge a prolonged partnership.

“Both countries benefit from having regional and international stability, a major aim that should encompass all fields of economic, military and political cooperation between the two countries.”

Russia is building Egypt’s first nuclear power plant. It is also emerging as a major supplier of weapons to Egypt, which used to import its military hardware needs from the West, mainly the US.

During Putin’s visit, Egyptian and Russian officials will sign a pact for establishing a Russian industrial zone in the coastal city of Suez, at an estimated cost of $7 billion over 10 years.

“One of the hardships facing any strategic alliance between Egypt and Russia is the Russian belief that Egypt’s turn to Moscow is often prompted by Cairo’s problems with the US. Egypt needs to leave Moscow in no doubt that Egyptians are interested in building a stable alliance with Russia to the benefit of both sides,” argued Abu Taleb.

Egypt’s semi-official newspaper said in an editorial that Putin’s trip signifies a “major leap” in their relations in view of regional turmoil.

“Egypt is a main power in the Middle East and Russia is a world power that is seeking to restore its vital global role. Both countries share one common denominator, which is to find peaceful solutions to Middle East crises with the aim of serving their respective national interests,” said the paper.

Salah Al Hadi, a political expert, believes that the timing of Putin’s visit to Egypt makes it highly significant.

“The visit comes amid delicate conditions in the Middle East, including troubles in Syria, Libya, Yemen and recently the occupied Territories,” Al Hadi told Gulf News.

“It is in the interest of both countries and that of the rest of the world to resolve these problems. It is no exaggeration to say that Putin’s current talks in Cairo can be a milestone in the history of the Arab region now that the US has become part of the problem, not a key to the solution. Moreover, Russia is, historically, more familiar with the Arab world and interested in its stability than the US,” he said. “This fact is reflected in the several visits exchanged by Russian and Arab officials in recent months.”

In October, Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz made the first visit by a Saudi monarch to Moscow.

Some ordinary Egyptians sound upbeat over Putin’s visit too.

“Russia has always been a sincere friend of Arabs, especially Egypt,” said Ahmad Abdul Rahim, a retired engineer.

“In the sixties, they helped us in setting up several projects, including the High Dam,” he added, referring to a major hydraulic structure in the Southern Egyptian city of Aswan.

Egypt maintained close links with the former Soviet Union under late President Jamal Abdul Nasser, who died in 1970. Anwar Sadat, who took office after Nasser, shifted the alliance to the US, a switch that was also embraced by his successor Hosni Mubarak, who ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years until the 2011 uprising.

“More than 40 years after falling into the American arms, the results have been disastrous as Trump’s provocative announcement [on occupied Jerusalem] has proved,” said Abdul Rahim, who worked in the 1960s in building the High Dam. “The Arabs should return this slap in the face to Washington by getting closer to Moscow.”