Egypt military chief heads to Moscow in rare visit
Russian Arabic-language news channel says the two nations will sign a major arms deal during the visit, which begins Wednesday.
CAIRO - Egypt's military chief is heading to Moscow in a rare visit to the Russian capital by the Arab nation's top commander -- and the first since the popularly-backed coup that ousted the country's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last summer.
Military spokesman Col. Ahmed Mohammed Ali says army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is also the defense minister, is accompanied on the trip, which starts Wednesday, by Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy.
Ali says the trip follows the "historic" visit by a top-level Russian delegation in November.
Meanwhile, a Russian Arabic-language news channel reported Wednesday that the two nations will sign a major arms deal during the visit.
Moscow is trying to expand its influence in Egypt, a key US ally in the Middle East, at a time when US-Egyptian relations have soured after the military's ouster of Morsi last July.
Al-Sisi is widely expected to announce he will run for president in elections that are likely due in late April.
Roi Kais contributed to this report
