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Egypt, Russia have identical views on Syria, terrorism

CAIRO, Dec 11 (KUNA) -- Egyptian and Russian Presidents, Abdelfatah Al-Sisi and Vladimir Putin respectively, said Monday they were on same wave length over the Syrian crisis and counter-terrorism.
Al-Sisi, at a joint news conference with Putin in Cairo, described the relations between Egypt and Russia as "strategic and historic," and hoped they would further develop at economic level.
He said he and Putin discussed the Palestinian cause in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the transfer of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the occupied city.
He called for avoiding any complication of the situation in the Middle East, praising the Russian role whether "individually or within the international Quartet." On Syria, Al-Sisi said they agreed to continue the de-escalation of violence in order to create the suitable atmosphere for political negotiations.
He said he and Putin agreed to support UN-sponsored Syrian negotiations to achieve a comprehensive political solution that meet aspirations of the Syrian people and safeguard unity of the Syrian lands.
Al-Sisi called for preventing any security or political vacuum in Libya, and said he agreed with Putin to exchange counter-terrorism information and movement of terrorists.
Putin said he agreed with Al-Sisi to support a long-term political solution in Syria.
Putin, who welcomed the Egyptian-sponsored reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas, said Moscow and Cairo believed the Palestine-Israel negotiations should start immediately.
He spoke of the bilateral relations with Egypt and said trade exchange increased in the last nine months to over USD four billion.
Putin said Russia would build a nuclear reactor in Egypt, which would be sophisticated and safe.
He said the Russian industrial zone in the economic zone in Suez Canal area "will be the largest center for industry, supply and export of Russian products to markets in the Middle East and North Africa." Total investment in this zone is estimated at USD seven billion. (end) rg.bs