Russia plans to build naval base in Sudan

Russia expands its sphere of military influence from land to sea on the African continent, proposing to open its first naval base in Africa since the time of the Soviet Union in Sudan. At the time of the USSR, Russia had a naval base in Somalia, where Turkey has it now. On land, Russian military forces were already permanently deployed in several countries on the African continent such as Egypt, Mozambique and the Central African Republic. In the naval sphere, this base, in addition to being the first in Africa, is the second Russian base outside the territory of the former Soviet Union, the other being the Tartus base in Syria. The pact was signed on November 6 by the Sudanese transition government and Russian prime minister Mikhail Mishustin, but was not made public until a week later.

The agreement stipulates that the Red Sea base may be used for supply, repair and technical stoppages, which will be of great use to Russian ships which until then had to make long routes from the Baltic to the Indian Ocean. The Red Sea is a strategic enclave that will allow it to access the Indian Ocean without having to pass through its base in Tartus to refuel, as it is at present. Although it is considered a naval base, there will be no permanent ships, but rather it will function as a naval logistics centre where ships will stop, unlike some military bases in Djibouti, such as the American one, which do have permanent ships.    

The number of military personnel permanently staying at this facility should not exceed 300 people, according to the agreement, and might allocate four warships with the possibility of having nuclear capabilities as long as they respect environmental and nuclear safety legislation. Also, Russia will have the right to import and export through the seaports and airfields of Sudan "any weapons, ammunition and equipment" necessary for the operation of the base and "for the performance of tasks by warships."

The agreement states that Sudan will provide a land plot for the Russian base free of charge for a period of 25 years. It will automatically renew for subsequent 10-year periods. In return, Russia has expressed its willingness to provide military support and equipment, including weapons to Sudan free of charge if the latter undertakes to permanently defend the base with air capabilities. It is not known how much the base will cost the Russian government, but the Tartus base, which is similar in concept and size, is estimated by Nezavisimaya Gazeta Daily to cost 41.5 million dollars annually.  

 This is not the first time that Russia has attempted to establish a base in Africa; one of the countries Russia looked at was Djibouti, but negotiations were not fruitful. Djibouti already houses the foreign bases of the United States, France, Japan, China and Italy. Although the agreement was signed this year with the Sudanese transition government, Russian-Sudanese military relations began in 2017 when former president Omar al-Bashir visited Moscow to sign a cooperation agreement with Russia to modernise the Sudanese armed forces. Since then diplomatic, economic and military relations have grown closer, with examples such as the agreement to build a nuclear power station in Khartoum and the purchase and sale of infantry vehicles and combat helicopters to update the armaments of the Sudanese armed forces. Despite Al-Bashir's overthrow, Russia has continued its relationship with General Al-Burhan, who is chairman of the Sovereign Council, the body responsible for carrying out the transition in Sudan.

The Sudanese transitional government has reached such an agreement with Russia only a few months after the Israel-Sudan normalisation agreement that was moderated by the United States. U.S.-Sudanese relations had also improved since President Trump's decision to remove Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, once they had paid their debts to the victims of several attacks on various American embassies orchestrated by al-Qaeda from Sudanese territory. This agreement with Russia is being jeopardised by last year's rapprochement with the United States. Meanwhile, the US government has not commented on this naval base, as Sudan has yet to confirm or deny that the agreement is true, despite Russia having published the draft text on the Internet.

The new naval base in Sudan is a logical continuation of Russia's strategy on the African continent, which culminated in 2019 with the Russian-African summit in the Kremlin attended by over 40 African leaders. Russia is becoming an indispensable power to be counted on for decision-making in Africa, being the leading arms seller to the region and expanding its military, political and economic sphere of influence on the continent every day.