(CAIRO) — During a meeting in a Black Sea resort city, Egypt's president and members of his government turned to Russian President Vladimir Putin and asked for a sizable loan, according to Putin aide. Egypt's Mohammed Morsi appealed to Moscow and Cairo's past ties, recalling how the former Soviet Union stepped in to finance the building of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s after the United States abruptly withdrew from the project, according to Russian media. (More: After Sectarian Violence, Coptic Pope Takes On Egypt's President) Still, the Russians' response seemed rather equivocal: We'll talk later. Egypt has been knocking on doors around the region seeking billions of dollars in loans, bond purchases and grants, trying to fill rapidly draining coffers so it can keep power stations running and bakeries churning out cheap bread for the country's millions of poor. The drive appears to have accelerated ahead of the summer, when the country's fragile electricity network often breaks down under increased energy use and when officials have predicted a drop in wheat supplies. Several states — including Qatar and Libya — have responded in recent weeks. But strikingly, a few countries have balked, wary of pouring money into Egypt's worsening economy without some political stability after two years of turmoil since the fall of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Moreover, economists worry that Morsi's government is relying on an unsustainable policy, scrambling for foreign cash as a temporary cushion that allows it to put off major — and highly unpopular — economic reforms and avoid compromise with its political opponents. The most crucial piece of aid, a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, has been delayed by months of negotiations over how Egypt will reduce its massive system of subsidies, which the poor rely on for cheap fuel and food but which suck up large portions of the budget. The government has taken some limited steps, but many economists believe it is postponing extensive reforms until after parliament elections to avoid austerity measures that could hurt Morsi's majority Muslim Brotherhood(http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=world.time.com&blog=19871253&post=83981&subd=timeglobalspin&ref=&feed=1)
Via: TIME GlobalSpin