Ada Apa Dengan Amerika, Mesir, dan Rusia ?

Jakarta - Amerika Serikat menyatakan prihatin atas rencana Mesir membeli senjata militer dari Rusia, yakni jet tempur Su-35. Hal itu disampaikan Menteri Luar Negeri AS Antony Blinken saat melakukan percakapan telepon Menlu Mesir Sameh Shoukry.

Jakarta - The United States has expressed concern over Egypt's plans to purchase military weapons from Russia, namely the Su-35 fighter jet. This was conveyed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a telephone conversation with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

"Menlu menyampaikan keprihatinan atas hak asasi manusia, yang dia tekankan akan menjadi inti dari hubungan bilateral AS-Mesir, dan rencana pembelian pesawat tempur Su-35 Mesir dari Rusia," kata Juru Bicara Departemen Luar Negeri AS Ned Price, Selasa (23/2) dalam pernyataan dikutip dari situs resmi pemerintahan AS.

"The Foreign Minister expressed concern over human rights, which he stressed would be at the core of the US-Egypt bilateral relationship, and the planned purchase of Egyptian Su-35 fighters from Russia," said US State Department spokesman Ned Price, Tuesday (23/2 ) in a statement quoted from the official US government website.

Negeri Paman Sam juga menentang keras langkah sekutunya, Turki yang membeli jet tempur Rusia. AS mengancam menjatuhkan sanksi kepada para sekutu mereka yang nekat membeli peralatan tempur dari Rusia. Dalam kesempatan itu, Blinken dan Shoukry juga menyoroti pentingnya kemitraan strategis yang kuat antara Amerika Serikat dan Mesir. "Terutama dalam keamanan dan kerja sama kontraterorisme yang sedang berlangsung, serta bertukar pandangan tentang masalah regional."

Uncle Sam's country also strongly opposes the steps of its ally, Turkey, to buy Russian fighter jets. The US has threatened to impose sanctions on their allies who are determined to buy combat equipment from Russia. On that occasion, Blinken and Shoukry also highlighted the importance of a strong strategic partnership between the United States and Egypt. "Especially in the ongoing security and counterterrorism cooperation, as well as exchanging views on regional issues."

Pembicaraan perdamaian yang didukung PBB di Libya dan proses perdamaian Timur Tengah turut disinggung dalam percakapan tersebut. Mesir telah mengungkapkan rencana membeli jet tempur Su-35 untuk membantu militer dalam memerangi pemberontakan di Semenanjung Sinai yang sudah terjadi selama bertahun-tahun. Hal itu diputuskan Mesir setelah Amerika Serikat tidak menanggapi permintaan pembelian 24 jet tempur F-35.

The UN-backed peace talks in Libya and the Middle East peace process were also mentioned in the conversation. Egypt has revealed plans to buy Su-35 fighter jets to help the military fight an insurgency on the Sinai Peninsula that has been raging for years. This was decided by Egypt after the United States did not respond to a request for the purchase of 24 F-35 fighter jets.

Kesepakatan dengan Rusia tersebut ditujukan untuk memperluas jaringan pemasok senjata bagi Mesir. Sebab, selama beberapa tahun terakhir bantuan militer dari AS dihentikan karena kekhawatiran pelanggaran hak asasi manusia.

The deal with Russia is aimed at expanding the arms supply network for Egypt. This is because during the last few years military aid from the US has been stopped due to fears of human rights violations.

Mesir sendiri merupakan salah satu penerima bantuan militer terbesar dari AS di luar Pakta Pertahanan Atlantik Utara (NATO). Akan tetapi, belakangan ini Mesir beralih meminta bantuan militer kepada Rusia. Bahkan pada 2017 Mesir mengizinkan pasukan militer Rusia untuk menggunakan pangkalan udaranya.

Egypt itself is one of the largest recipients of US military assistance outside of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, recently Egypt has turned to asking Russia for military assistance. Even in 2017 Egypt allowed Russian military forces to use its air base.

Artikel ini telah terbit di CNN Indonesia dengan judul: AS Minta Mesir Tidak Beli Senjata dari Rusia.