Russia Increases Flights to Egypt

A traveler passes through an automatic disinfection booth at the entrance to the seaport of Egypt's southern Red Sea resort city, Hurghada, on June 19, 2020, while security measures are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (AFP/KHALED DESOUKI)
A traveler passes through an automatic disinfection booth at the entrance to the seaport of Egypt's southern Red Sea resort city, Hurghada, on June 19, 2020, while security measures are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (AFP/KHALED DESOUKI)
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Russia Increases Flights to Egypt

A traveler passes through an automatic disinfection booth at the entrance to the seaport of Egypt's southern Red Sea resort city, Hurghada, on June 19, 2020, while security measures are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (AFP/KHALED DESOUKI)
A traveler passes through an automatic disinfection booth at the entrance to the seaport of Egypt's southern Red Sea resort city, Hurghada, on June 19, 2020, while security measures are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic (AFP/KHALED DESOUKI)

Russia announced Friday it would resume international regular flights starting February 8, and up the number of its flights to Egypt.

“From February 8, flights will resume from international airports in Astrakhan, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm and Khabarovsk,” Egypt’s official news agency, MENA, reported.

It said the headquarters of combating the coronavirus in Russia decided that as of February 8, the number of regular flights to Egypt from these Russian airports will be increased at a rate of no more than one flight per week from each airport.

A Russian delegation of security and aviation experts visited Egypt on Thursday to inspect the latest security procedures at the Cairo, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh airports and the process for the resumption of regular charter flights from Russia to Egypt’s Red Sea resorts.

An informed source said the Russian delegation would remain in the country until Feb. 3 to inspect all measures inside departure and arrival halls, alongside procedures for securing bags and travelers and ensuring the presence of security personnel in their assigned spots.

Moscow halted civilian air traffic to Egypt in 2015 after militants detonated a bomb on a Russian Metrojet flight leaving the tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing 224 people on board.

In April 2018, Russia’s biggest airline Aeroflot said it would restart flights to Cairo.



Syria's Sharaa Skips Iraq Summit After Firestorm Over Invitation 

French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
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Syria's Sharaa Skips Iraq Summit After Firestorm Over Invitation 

French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)
French President Emmanuel Macron (not pictured) receives Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, 07 May 2025. (EPA)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will not attend the Arab League Summit in Baghdad this weekend, Syrian state media said on Monday, after Iraq's invitation spurred criticism from pro-Iran groups.

Syria's delegation to Saturday's summit will be headed by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, state-owned Ekhbariya TV reported, without providing a reason for Sharaa's absence. The summit is expected to focus on Gaza reconstruction and the Palestinian issue.

Sharaa's decision highlighted Syria's mixed results establishing ties across the region after former President Bashar al-Assad's ouster last year. Sharaa has made rapid inroads with Gulf Arab states Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but has tread more carefully with others where Iran has had strong influence, like Iraq.

Several influential Iraqi politicians had voiced opposition to Sharaa's visit.

They include former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, a leading member of Iraq's main pro-Iran coalition that holds a parliamentary majority.

Armed groups aligned with Tehran had also joined the call against Sharaa, including the Kataeb Hezbollah faction, which previously fought in Syria alongside Assad's forces.

Sharaa fought with Al-Qaeda in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003. He was imprisoned there for more than five years, then released for lack of evidence in 2011, according to a senior Iraqi security official.

Several Iraqi security sources told AFP that an old arrest warrant for Sharaa from his time as a member of Al-Qaeda remains in place.

However, authorities seek good relations with Syria's new leadership to help maintain regional stability, the sources said.

Sunni politicians largely welcomed Sharaa's participation in the summit as a step towards pulling Iraq away from Iran and towards the Arab fold.

"There are elements... working against Iraq's progress to reclaim its rightful place within the Arab community," said Raad al-Dahlaki, head of Azm Alliance, a major Sunni bloc in Iraq's parliament.