Reports that the Soviet Union may increase arms shipments to Egypt and that it was in negotiations for the use of Egyptian naval bases to service Soviet fleet units were being followed with close attention and concern here today.
According to the reports. Admiral Sergei Gorshkov, Supreme Commander of the Soviet Navy, completed a visit yesterday with a nine-man delegation in Egypt; During the visit, the Soviet naval leaders reportedly examined the possibilities of reaching such an agreement with President Nasser’s Government.
Al Massaa, the Cairo daily, declared yesterday that new units which arrived recently at Alexandria had made the Egyptian navy the strongest striking power in the Middle East; One report said that Egypt was negotiating for three additional squadrons of Soviet MIG-19 Jet fighters and several more submarines.
Al Massaa also reported that the naval units, which carried the most modern weapons equipment, arrived from Czechoslovakia and Russia during the weekend; Egyptian Government officials declined to deny or confirm the reports. The State Department in Washington declined to comment today on the reports.
According to another report, the bases sought in Egypt would be in replacement for the base lost by the Soviets in Albania as a result of the Communist-power struggle which led to a breaking off of diplomatic ties between the USSR and Albania; The Albanian base was the only one the Soviets had in the Mediterranean Sea.
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