Sudan general: Military to review navy base deal with Russia

CAIRO (AP) — A top Sudanese military official said the government will review an agreement with Russia to establish a navy base in the African country.

The remarks about the deal, which dates back to the government of now-deposed Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and has not been ratified by the Sudanese parliament, indicate that Khartoum is seeking some changes to the agreement.

Sudan’s Chief of General Staff, Gen. Mohammed Othman al-Hussein told Blue Nile television station late on Tuesday that negotiations are underway with Russian officials “to achieve Sudan’s interests.”

News about the deal surfaced last December on the official portal of the Russian government. The deal allows Russia to set up a naval base with up to 300 Russian troops, and also to simultaneously keep up to four navy ships, including nuclear-powered ones, in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

In exchange, Russia is to provide Sudan with weapons and military equipment. The agreement is to last for 25 years, with automatic extensions for 10-year periods if neither side objects to it.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

“We are negotiating a possible review to this deal, to ensure that our interests and our profits are taken into account,” al-Hussein said.

Moscow has for years sought to establish a regular naval presence in various parts of the world. The Russian navy already has a major presence in the Mediterranean Sea, with a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, currently the only such facility that Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.

Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to al-Bashir in April 2019. The east African nation is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government that seeks better ties with the United States and the West after nearly three decades of international isolation.

The Associated Press

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