Sudan Reminded Russia of Plans to Create a Navy Base on the Red Sea 0 23

The authorities of Sudan proposed to the Kremlin to "revive" plans for the establishment of a Russian naval base on the Red Sea: this was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Preliminary agreements on this were reached between the two countries back in 2017, and in December 2020, the text of the agreement was published.

However, Sudan has yet to ratify it — due to constant political changes and the civil war that broke out in 2023.

For some time, Khartoum was not focused on the Russian base, but in February 2025, the head of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry stated during a meeting with Sergey Lavrov in Moscow that there are no obstacles to implementing the project, and the parties "have reached complete agreement on this issue."

However, in November, the Russian ambassador to Sudan reported that the plans for the construction of the base have been "put on hold."

Now, according to WSJ, Khartoum wants to continue the project. Journalists from the publication believe that the Sudanese military urgently needs the preferential supplies of Russian weapons stipulated in the contract — to fight the Rapid Support Forces. Reports are coming from the areas under their control about the reprisals of militants against non-Arab populations.

Approximately 150,000 people have already died as a result of hostilities, hunger, and disease, while 12 million people have been forced to flee. The civil war in Sudan has become one of the most severe crises on the African continent.

At the beginning of the war, in 2023, Russia leaned towards supporting the RSF, which controlled gold mining areas — which could not help but affect the Sudanese authorities' attitude towards the plans for the base's construction. But later, Moscow returned to supporting the official Khartoum.

The First Russian Base in Africa

According to the agreement dated December 1, 2020, Moscow will be able to deploy up to 300 military personnel in Port Sudan, up to four combat ships, including nuclear ones, and will receive preferential access to contracts for the extraction of minerals in Sudan — primarily gold.

Port Sudan could become the first Russian naval base in Africa in the post-Soviet period.

However, Sudanese officials, according to WSJ, are aware that military contracts with Russia could cause problems in relations with the EU and the US.

The prospect of creating a Russian base on the Red Sea worries Washington, which believes that this will give Moscow the opportunity to expand its naval presence in the Red and Mediterranean Seas and the Indian Ocean. From Port Sudan, Moscow could control the movement of ships heading to the Suez Canal, through which 12 percent of global trade passes.

According to WSJ, Washington is striving in every way to prevent control over African ports from falling into the hands of China and Russia.