Sudan will revise the agreement on the deployment of the Russian military base

According to the chief of the country's General Staff, Mohammed Usman al-Hussein, the country's authorities are revising the agreement concluded between the former Sudanese government and the Russian Federation in order to achieve greater benefits for their country.

“We are in the process of revising the agreement signed between the former government of Sudan and Russia regarding a Russian military project on the Sudanese coast of the Red Sea”, - Kommersant quotes al-Hussein's statement.

As the newspaper notes, the Russian-Sudanese agreement on the creation of a logistics center for the Russian Navy in Sudan was signed in December 2020. The initiative to sign it back in 2017 was made by the President of Sudan Omar Bashir. However, in 2019, the power in the country changed during a military coup. Street protests against the rise in bread prices escalated into an uprising, and the 75-year-old president, who ruled the country for 30 years, was arrested. Under the country's previous government, the Sudanese Legislative Council did not ratify the agreement.

The new government of the country does not exclude the continuation of cooperation with the Russian Federation, but on different conditions. Al-Hussein indicated that joint work in the military sphere can resume, "if we find benefits and benefits for our country".

The first reports that Sudan is suspending the deployment of Russian troops in the country appeared in local media in April this year. The country's authorities said that the placement is not possible until the agreement is ratified by the country's legislative council. At the same time, the Russian Embassy in Sudan denied the suspension of the agreement.

In November 2020, the Russian authorities reported that "in order to maintain peace and stability in the region" they intend to increase their military presence in the Red Sea by placing their military base in the water area of the city of Port Sudan, where up to four Russian warships can be stationed simultaneously. including with a nuclear power plant. It was expected that a base with up to 300 personnel would be established in Sudan. Such forces would allow the Russian Federation to strengthen its geopolitical presence in the region and provide protection from pirate attacks to Russian merchant ships passing along the African coast.

The agreement concluded between the Republic of Sudan and the Russian Federation did not imply levy of rent, but in return the Russian side was supposed to “strengthen the defense capability of Sudan” by arranging the supply of weapons, military and special equipment to the republic.

Earlier, Turkey also showed interest in deploying a base in the well-located Port Sudan.