Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov paid a two-day visit to Sudan this week, where he met army commander Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan—the country’s de facto leader—in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.
According to an April 29 statement issued by Sudan’s Sovereign Council, Mr. Bogdanov said that his visit was aimed at forging closer ties between the two countries.
Mr. Bogdanov, who serves as Moscow’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, also voiced support for “the existing legitimacy in [Sudan] represented by the Sovereign Council,” according to the statement.
The Sovereign Council is led by Gen. al-Burhan, who has ruled Sudan since 2019, when longstanding leader Omar al-Bashir was ousted amid mass demonstrations.
In a statement carried by the Sudanese press, Nadir Yousif, Sudan’s acting foreign ministry undersecretary, said Mr. Bogdanov’s visit signaled Moscow’s “solidarity with the Sudanese government and people.”
According to the Sudan Tribune, a local newspaper, the Russian diplomat “highlighted potential collaboration in the economic, commercial, and training sectors, offering Russia’s experience and expertise to Sudan.”
For the past year, the Sudanese army has remained locked in conflict with a renegade paramilitary force known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Thousands have been killed—and millions displaced—by the conflict, which has largely centered on capital Khartoum and Sudan’s western Darfur region.
Located 500 miles northeast of Khartoum, Port Sudan has served as a base for the Sudanese army since the RSF overran much of the capital in the conflict’s early stages.
Mr. Bogdanov’s visit to Port Sudan isn’t the only recent meeting between top Russian and Sudanese officials.
Last week, Ahmed Mufaddal, Sudan’s general intelligence chief, visited Moscow to attend a high-profile security forum.
During the visit, Mr. Mufaddal also met with Mr. Bogdanov, with whom he discussed Sudan’s “military and political situation,” according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement that the two men had also discussed the “further development of the historically friendly relations between Russia and Sudan.”
Moscow Eyes Red Sea Naval Presence
Before Mr. al-Bashir’s ouster in 2019, Sudan had agreed—in theory at least—to let Russia establish a naval base on its Red Sea coast.Under the deal, Russia would be allowed to keep up to four naval vessels at the strategically located base, including nuclear-powered ones, along with 300 troops.
In return, Russia, which has historically sought warm water ports for its navy, would provide Sudan with needed arms and military equipment.
If constructed, the proposed base would provide Russia’s navy with access to both the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
In February of last year, the Associated Press cited two Sudanese government officials who said the country’s military leadership had tentatively greenlit the project.
“They [the Russians] cleared all our concerns,” one of the officials was quoted as saying at the time. “The deal is okay from the military side.”
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agreement was awaiting the formation of a civilian government and parliament before it could be formally ratified.
Sudan has remained without a functioning parliament since Mr. al-Bashir’s ouster in 2019.
In 2021, the country’s hoped-for transition to democracy was further complicated by the military coup led by Gen. al-Burhan.
Early last month, Ali al-Sadiq Ali, Sudan’s then-foreign minister, said the country’s next parliament—once elections were held—would likely ratify the agreement with Russia.
“We believe a new parliament should be formed, which will consider the agreement [with Russia] and develop a recommendation for the government—a positive recommendation,” Mr. Ali said.
“We have no fundamental objections to the agreements reached under the previous government,” he was quoted as saying by Russia’s Sputnik news agency.
“This is an obligation of the state,” he added.
But on April 17, Sudan’s military leadership abruptly dismissed Mr. Ali from his post without providing a reason for the move.
It remains unclear what effect—if any—his dismissal will have on the proposed agreement with Russia.
