WSJ: Sudan offers Russia naval base in exchange for arms

Chairman of the Sudan Sovereign Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has proposed allowing Russia to establish a naval base in Port Sudan in return for weapons supplies.

The agreement, if finalised, would grant Moscow access to one of the region’s most strategic maritime routes at a time when it has faced challenges expanding its presence on the continent, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports.

For the US, it would mark a worrisome shift, undermining efforts to prevent Russia and China from gaining influence over African ports that could serve as hubs for warship resupply and, potentially, enable control over critical maritime routes.

Under a 25-year proposal Sudan’s military rulers put forward to Russian officials in October, Moscow would be permitted to deploy up to 300 personnel and dock as many as four warships, including nuclear-powered vessels, at Port Sudan or another, yet-to-be-determined Red Sea site, according to the officials.

The plan would also give the Kremlin priority access to profitable mining concessions in Sudan, Africa’s third-largest gold producer.

From Port Sudan, Russia would be positioned to closely monitor maritime traffic moving through the Suez Canal, a key route linking Europe and Asia that handles roughly 12% of global trade.

In return for granting Russian forces long-term basing rights, Sudan’s embattled military regime would receive advanced Russian air-defence systems and other weapons at favourable prices as it continues its civil war against the rebel Rapid Support Forces, the officials said.

A Sudanese military representative told The Wall Street Journal that the country urgently needs new arms but acknowledged that entering such an agreement with Moscow could create friction with the US and the European Union.

Sudan’s government and armed forces did not respond to requests for comment.

The Sudan-Russia negotiations come at a time when Moscow has seen its influence in Africa wane. Only a few years ago, governments in Mali and the Central African Republic were turning to the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group for protection and battlefield support.

Much of Wagner’s African footprint began to fracture after 2023, when its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, staged a mutiny against Russian president Vladimir Putin and later died when an explosive device destroyed the wing of his aircraft at 28,000 feet.

Russia’s new state-controlled replacement force has so far struggled to match Wagner’s revenues or its political leverage on the continent.

Sudan’s civil conflict—triggered in 2023 by a power struggle between General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo—has opened a fresh opportunity.

Regional and global powers are now using the turmoil to advance their own agendas, creating a fluid and complex web of alliances.

By Jeyhun Aghazada