Russian sailors pay friendly visit to Egypt

Wednesday is the first day of a four-day unofficial visit of a Black Sea Fleet battleship force to Egypt.

The program of the visit envisages that the guided-missile cruiser Moskva and the transport ship Yamal will pay a call at the Mediterranean port of Port-Said, with meetings between the force's top brass and the chief of the garrison of Port-Said, the Governor of the city, scheduled to take place on board the Moskva. The Russian ships will also receive the staff of the Egyptian Navy.

Egyptian experts and political scientists point out that the last time ships from the former USSR paid a visit to this African country was several decades ago.

Apart from visiting Port-Said, the Russian sailors will go sightseeing around the Egyptian capital Cairo and see the famous Giza Pyramids.

On the night of June 24, the Moskva and the Yamal, as well as five other military ships that took part in the recent manoeuvres in the Indian Ocean, entered the Suez Canal waterway from the side of the Red Sea.