Overview

• Sudan's Foreign Minister confirmed that Russia and Sudan are in full agreement on establishing a naval base on the Red Sea, with no remaining obstacles to the deal's implementation.
• The base, originally proposed in 2017 and signed in 2020, is part of a 25-year agreement allowing Russia to station up to four warships, including nuclear-powered vessels, in Sudan.
• Russia's renewed urgency for the base follows the loss of its Tartus naval facility in Syria after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024.
• The Sudanese civil war, which began in 2023, delayed the base's development, but Moscow has since aligned more closely with Sudan's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan as his forces gain the upper hand in the conflict.
• The Red Sea base would provide Russia with a strategic foothold in Africa, easing logistical pressures after setbacks in Syria and enabling it to project power in the region alongside U.S. and Chinese bases in Djibouti.