The Russian foreign and defence ministers will travel to Egypt next week on a visit seen as signalling a growing rapprochement between the two countries as the military-backed authorities in Cairo reach out for new allies and seek to lessen dependence on Washington. A Russian official spokesman said that Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, and Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, will discuss issues touching on “military and technical co-operation” – seen as a Russian euphemism for arms sales. Cairo’s relations with Washington , its primary aid donor and military supplier for four decades, have frayed since the coup in July, which ousted the Islamist Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first elected president. As tensions with Washington increased over the summer culminating in a US decision to withhold part of its annual $1.3bn in military aid, Egyptian officials started to hint that their country would seek a realignment in its foreign relations. […]