An agreement signed several years ago to establish a Russian naval base in Sudan remains on the table after talks in Moscow, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Youssef Sharif said in an interview with the Russian media on Wednesday, UNN reports citing Reuters.
Details
Such an agreement has been discussed for years since it was signed under former President Omar al-Bashir. The army generals who ousted him in 2019 later said the plan was under review and the base had never been established.
"At our meeting, we did not discuss the agreement... the agreement was signed, and there are no disagreements," said the Sudanese Foreign Minister, stating that the only issue that remains is ratification.
"There are no obstacles, we are in full agreement," Sharif said earlier when asked about the deal after talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
He did not provide any additional details about the plan.
Addendum
Russia has established ties with both sides of the nearly two-year civil war in Sudan, and Russian officials have visited the army's military capital, Port Sudan, in recent months.
Last year, a senior Sudanese general said that Russia had requested a refueling station on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons and ammunition.
Sharif said that such a station does not pose a threat to any other country or to Sudan's sovereignty, citing the example of neighboring Djibouti, which hosts several foreign bases.
Such a station would be beneficial to Russia, especially after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria has called into question key bases there, the newspaper notes.
The war in Sudan, as indicated, has attracted many competing regional and global influences, in part because of its extensive Red Sea coastline as well as its gold resources.