Abd Al-Nasser asks Soviet Union for help
General Mohamed Abd Al-Ghany Al-Gamasy said in his memoirs ( On 21/6/1967, the Soviet president Podgorny with a military delegation under command of Marshal Zakharov the chief of the general staff of the Soviet Forces came to Egypt to show their political assistance to Egypt and to discuss the requirements of weapons to reconstruct the Egyptian Army. The Marshal stayed in Egypt nearly for a month to help organizing the forces and upgrading their war tactics in co-operation with the general commander of Egyptian Armed Forces under direct supervision of president Abd Al-Nasser."
Mahmmoud Riad, the foreign minister at the time, wrote in his Memoirs " In the next day of 22/6/1967, talks started among Podgorny, Marshal Zakharov and the Soviet Ambassador in Cairo, President Abd Al-Nasser, Zakaria Mohi Al-Deen, Ali Sabry, General Mohamed Fawzi and I.
The first session of talks was so important because it was a new stage of the Soviet-Egyptian relations, which led to a strong soviet presence, not only in Egypt but also in other places of the Arab world. Consequently, it led to a gradual change in Egypt policy toward nonalignment. The more U.S.A. assistance increase to Israel the more soviet presence increase.
On 22, 23 June, during talks between Abd Al-Nasser and Podgorny. President Abd Al-Nasser asked to achieve the military balance between Egypt and Israel, and provide Egyptian Armed Forces with weapons and soviet experts especially in the Air Defense field.
He declared to the Soviet that the war of June highly affected the spirit of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Therefore, providing the Army with weapons in the nearest time would be vital to affect the situation positively and to raise the spirit of the officers and soldiers.
As for the Air Forces Abd Al-Nasser declared that the Soviet sent 25 aircrafts ( MIG 21 ) and 93 aircrafts ( MIG 17 ) to Egypt after war, while they agreed to send another 40 aircrafts ( MIG 21 ).
The MIG aircraft from the technical perspective has a short distance, if it is compared with Mirage & Mystère aircrafts that Israel had, which could reach Marsa Matrouh. Consequently, the Israeli aircrafts could advance deeply in Egypt, while the MIG aircraft could not. Therefore, president Abd Al-Nasser asked for a new brand of long distance aircrafts that could reach Israel too. Also demanded to provide Egypt quickly, by air and not by sea, with number of MIG aircrafts to participate in the Air Defense of Egypt, since we had pilots and didn't have aircrafts.
As for the stage of reconstructing the Air Defense, Abd Al-Nasser preferred to achieve it in the frame of joint defense Egyptian & Soviet. Then, our officers and soldiers could join the soviet experts in air defense to have the experience, but Podgorny said that it was better to be an Egyptian Air Defense with aid and help from the Soviet Union.
President Abd Al-Nasser explained the situation in Egypt during this period saying "Here in Egypt we had been attacked before in 1956 and now again in 1967. Because the western countries consider us taking the side with the eastern countries, for our refusal to follow the U.S.A. Policy. But our policy springs from our principle that depends on our foreign policy of nonalignment.
Here in Egypt we find Israel attacking and usurping our lands and is supported by the U.S.A., and during that war many people were inquiring and asking? Where are our soviet friends?
But it was clear that your military assistance to us will be impossible before we reach an agreement for necessary arrangements. I know that this agreement will increase U.S.A. enmity. But I know that the U.S.A. stand to the Israeli side in the security council and refuse any decision demanding Israel to return to the lines of 4th of June. I know also that U.S.A. will continue her aggressive policy toward us in the future. So, it is not logic to deal with those who strike us as the same to those who help us. And we want to deepen the Egyptian-Soviet co-operation to remove the remains of the Israeli aggression.
At this point Podgorny commented saying "It is difficult to find a nonaligned country one hundred percent". The president Abd Al-Nasser resumed his talks saying "If we ask you to join us in a war we should be with you in war and peace, and we have hard times which we can not overcome only by ourselves, and because the struggle this time entail to use weapon to liberate our land, so we have to sign an agreement with the Soviet Union and be ready to make facilities to your navy from Port Said to Al-Saloom.
Of course we will listen to people saying you kicked out the British Army and let the Soviet in, but we can bear all for the sake of our country freedom." ) The memoirs of Mahmmoud Riad, the foreign minister (at that time).
Source: October War 1973, second edition 1998. General Mohamed Abd Al-Ghany Al-Gamasy chief of operations of Egyptian Army during the war. 
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