{"id":20110643,"date":"2024-12-27T12:07:02","date_gmt":"2024-12-27T11:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20110643"},"modified":"2024-12-27T12:10:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-27T11:10:33","slug":"sudan-russia-naval-base-talks-still-ongoing-diplomats-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/sudan-russia-naval-base-talks-still-ongoing-diplomats-say","title":{"rendered":"Sudan-Russia naval base talks still ongoing, diplomats say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Russian embassy in Khartoum denied \u2018claims by Western media\u2019 that Sudan has refused to host a Russian naval base in Port Sudan on the Red Sea.<\/strong> Sudan’s ambassador to Moscow also denied the allegations, adding that Sudanese-Russian ties were “at their best”.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement seen by Russia Today Arabic<\/em>, the Russian embassy in Sudan described the allegations as \u201cabsolute lies\u201d and said they lacked factual evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudanese ambassador to Moscow, Mohamed Siraj, also dismissed the claims, saying that Sudan has not rejected an agreement with Russia to establish a naval base, and calling the accusations \u201cfalse\u201d and \u201cmisleading\u201d in a post on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted in an interview with RIA Novosti <\/em>earlier this week that the proposal remains under review, as part of broader efforts to strengthen Sudanese-Russian ties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/twitter.com\/modghazali\/status\/1871970524739338517\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The statements come amidst ongoing speculation<\/a> about military cooperation between Sudan and Russia, particularly regarding strategic agreements in the Red Sea region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plans to establish Russian military infrastructure on the shores of Suakin, 63km south of Port Sudan, date back to 2017, during a high-profile\u00a0visit by Omar Al Bashir<\/a>\u00a0to Russia in November of that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, Yasir El Atta, deputy commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), confirmed in May<\/a> \u00a0that Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan would sign an agreement with Russia to establish a naval base in the Red Sea. He told Al Hadath News<\/em> at the time: \u201cIt is not a shame to give a military base to any country on the Red Sea with which we have economic partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, opposition voices have raised concerns. In an op-ed published in June, Yasir Arman argued<\/a> that \u201ctwo ways towards prolonging the war and condemning Sudan to death: letting the Russians open a\u00a0naval base in Port Sudan<\/a>\u00a0and establishing a government in El Fasher”.<\/p>\n