Moscow Freezes Construction of Military Base on the Red Sea 0 6

Russia will not be able to open a naval base in Sudan in the near future due to the ongoing civil war in the country, said the Russian ambassador to the republic, Andrei Chernovol. "Given the current military conflict, progress on this issue is currently suspended," Chernovol said in an interview with "RIA Novosti."

He reminded that in 2020, Moscow and Khartoum signed an intergovernmental agreement under which Sudan allowed the establishment of a logistics support point for the Russian Navy on its territory. It was expected that the base, which would be built in Port Sudan, could accommodate up to four Russian ships and up to 300 military personnel. Moscow also received the right to bring weapons, equipment, ammunition, and air defense and electronic warfare systems to the base. However, the agreement has not yet been ratified.

Russia agreed to build the military base with Sudan back in 2017. At that time, the African republic was led by President Omar al-Bashir. In 2019, he was overthrown, after which dialogue regarding the facility stalled for some time. During the civil war, Russia, through the Wagner Group, assisted the rebels from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but later began to support the government troops. In February of this year, the latter took control of the capital, the international airport, the presidential palace, and key military bases, inflicting significant defeats on the rebels. After that, the Sudanese Foreign Minister announced that an agreement on the base with Russia had been reached. From that moment, construction began in Port Sudan.

The logistics support point for the Russian Navy in Sudan could become the first base of the Russian military fleet in Africa since the Soviet era, said Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of the magazine "Arsenal of the Fatherland." The Soviet Union had naval bases in Somalia and Ethiopia. The first was closed in 1977, and the second in 1991. According to Murakhovsky, by placing a base on the Red Sea, Russia will gain control over the route through the Suez Canal, which accounts for about 10% of all global maritime transport. "In addition, Russia will ensure its permanent presence in the Indian Ocean, which was lost in the post-Soviet years," he noted.