Egyptian exporters don’t want to lose business with Russia — even if it means getting payments in RUB. The Egyptian Businessmen’s Association wants Egyptian businesses to be able to open RUB bank accounts, Al Borsa writes citing association chairman Ali Issa. The plan is aimed at maintaining trade between the two countries amid western sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

How would it work? The RUB generated from our exports to Russia would be used to pay for our imports from Russia, allowing traders to sidestep the USD as a trade currency, Issa reportedly said.

This could come in handy if Russia starts expecting payment for its exports in RUB. Moscow has already said it will demand payment in RUB for its key gas exports to “unfriendly countries” (read: pretty much all of Europe), later signaling that the scheme is a “prototype” and could soon expand to other categories of exports.

The association will submit its proposal to the cabinet and the central bank, Issa is quoted as saying, adding that it would then need agreement from Russia to move forward.

REALITY CHECK- Don’t hold your breath. We can’t imagine Egyptian financial institutions (or pols, for that matter) running the risk of breaching sanctions against Russian financial institutions, at least seven of which have been cut off from the global Swift network through which banks send transfer instructions. And don’t even get us started on the fact that — pre-invasion — we imported about six times more than we sold Russia.

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WARTIME DIPLOMACY-

Zelensky makes a push for African support: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to address the African Union, Senegalese President and current AU president Macky Sall said in a tweet after the two spoke by phone. African countries (including Egypt) accounted for 24 of the 58 countries that abstained from voting to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council last weekend, while another nine African nations voted against the motion.

Finland and Sweden could join Nato as soon as this summer, indicating that Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine is inadvertently strengthening the alliance in what US officials are calling a “massive strategic blunder.” (The Times)

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PAYING FOR WAR-

Ukraine calls for more military aid as it gears up for renewed attacks in the east: Ukraine’s finance minister called for USD tens of bns in support from allies to urgently plug a gaping hole in the country’s finances, in an interview with the Financial Times. “We are under great stress, in the very worst [financial] condition,” Sergii Marchenko said. “Now it is a question of the survival of our country.” Zelensky also requested more military aid during a virtual address to the South Korean parliament (watch, runtime: 19:55).

Both the US and Kyiv have warned that Russia is gearing up for a major new offensive in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.

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ON THE FRONT LINES-

Civilian death toll mounts in Mariupol: At least 10k and potentially even more than 20k civilians have died in the besieged eastern city of Mariupol, the city’s mayor told the AP yesterday.