** #7 El Sisi, Putin sign cooperation agreement — but nothing yet on bringing back Red Sea flights: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed yesterday a cooperation and partnership protocol designed to improve ties and grow bilateral trade, according to an Ittihadiya statement. The two presidents discussed everything from the Russian Industrial Zone to the progress on the Dabaa nuclear power plant, but did not emerge from their meeting with an agreement on when direct flights from Russia to Red Sea tourist destinations will officially resume.

Putin acknowledged after their sit-down that “Egyptian officials have done ‘everything necessary to enhance flight security’” and said nothing more than that charter flights will resume “in the nearest time,” the AP notes. The State Information Service had suggested earlier this week that the two presidents were all but certain to emerge from yesterday’s meeting with a concrete agreement on the resumption of flights.

The meeting was naturally all over the airwaves last night, with extensive coverage from Al Hayah Al Youm (watch here, runtime: 3:45 and here, runtime: 2:36) and Masaa DMC (watch here, runtime: 7:07, here, runtime: 5:45 and here, runtime: 5:30).

In other news from Russia, the two countries are expected to sign soon contracts for the delivery of Russian Ka-52K helicopters to Egypt, Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation head Dmitry Shugaev said yesterday. Negotiations are in the “active phase,” he said. The contract was awarded to Russia in 2016.