The ambassador said the questions of international security and Russian-Egyptian cooperation in civil nuclear power would be on the agenda when Mubarak meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Egyptian president "understands that you can't put all your eggs in one basket," analyst Vadim Kozyulin of the PIR Center think tank told AFP, referring to Cairo's close relationship with Washington.

Russia's interest is driven by "the hazy nature of Cairo's relations with the United States, which can exact a high price for the tyranny of ex-allies" such as Uzbekistan, which Washington dropped after Tashkent's bloody suppression of an uprising in Andijan in May 2005, Kozyulin said.

Egypt's willingness to buy weapons from Russia rather than its traditional US suppliers has "surprised" Moscow, said Ruslan Pukhov, a weapons specialist at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. Pukhov said Egypt may buy Mig-AT and Mig-29 fighters during the trip.

Mubarak, who undertook military studies in Moscow in the 1960s, praised Russian anti-aircraft systems and fighter planes as "the best in the world" in a long interview this week with Russian daily Vremya Novostei.

"The arms market is extremely politicized. It is very important who you buy from," Pukhov said.

Cairo's apparent openness to considering purchase of Russian weaponry "shows that Russia's geopolitical weight has grown," he said -- noting that Washington, Egypt's traditional arms supplier, was unlikely to be impressed.

As for nuclear power, another touchy subject for Washington, Mubarak told Vremya Novostei that Egypt's revival of its civil nuclear program after a 20-year pause "does not take into account the position of one country or another."

"The United States has its interests, Russia has its interests, and we have our own," he said.

At the end of the 1970s, Egypt had wanted to build eight nuclear thermal power stations to produce electricity, but none was built.

Its program fell cold following the nuclear disaster at Ukraine's Chernobyl power station in 1986.

The situation in the Middle East will also loom large during this week's talks.

"Mubarak will inform Putin of the position of the moderate leaders of the Arab world who are anxious about Hezbollah's rise to power in Lebanon with Iran's support, as well as Tehran's nuclear ambitions," said Alexander Shumilin, director of the Center for Middle East Conflict Analysis.

Russian-Egyptian relations are based partly on the personalities of their two leaders, who have previously met in Moscow in 2004 and Cairo last year.

"In the Arab countries they love strong leaders. Mubarak likes Putin," the PIR Center's Kozyulin said.

Mubarak told the Russian press that he would advise Putin to remain in power when his second and last presidential mandate ended in 2008.

"Your constitution which allows only two mandates, it is an imitation of the Americans? You criticize the Americans, but then imitate them... You decide! Russia needs Putin," said Mubarak.

The Egyptian president has been in power for 25 years following the assassination in 1981 of President Anouar al-Sadat.

Related Links
The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com