The Sudan Tribune published on 7 June 2024 an article titled "Sudan Vows to Activate Military, Economic Cooperation with Russia."
The deputy head of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council told Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in St. Petersburg that Khartoum is interested in reviving the agreement on constructing a Russian naval base on the Red Sea while acknowledging the need to consider the opinions of other countries. Red Sea littoral countries, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the United States have expressed opposition to the base. Speaking on Russia's Arabic-language TV service, Sudan's finance minister said the discussions focus on a service center for Russian ships to obtain supplies.
The Middle East Eye published on 4 June 2024 an article titled "Sudanese Delegation Visits Russia as Red Sea Base Moves Forward" by Oscar Rickett.
Commenting on the same visit to St. Petersburg, the article points out that Russia's mercenary Wagner Group has been supportive for years of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is currently at war with the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). The Sudanese delegation in St. Petersburg speaks for the SAF, which has requested weapons and ammunition from Moscow.
Comment: It will be interesting to see how Sudan and Russia deal with Moscow's conflicting support for both the RSF and the SAF. Nor does there appear to be agreement yet on what a Russian naval base on Sudan's Red Sea coast would look like.
