Malik Agar, the deputy chairman of the army-dominated Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council, left no doubt about his country's position in comments made in June on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

Sudan is indeed interested in reviving an agreement on building a Russian navy hub on the Red Sea, Agar said, according to Sudanese daily Sudan Tribune.

Sudan and Russia have been discussing such an agreement for years. According to a report from the Institute for the Study of War, as far back as 2017, Sudan's then-president Omar al-Bashir, and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a deal on the construction of a Russian base with room for several hundred soldiers and four ships.

However, due to the political instability that then ensued in Sudan, its parliament was unable to ratify the contract. But discussions have recently resumed — apparently with more success.

In late May, the assistant commander-in-chief of the Sudanese army (SAF) Yasser al-Atta announced that Sudan and Russia would sign a number of military and economic agreements in the coming weeks.

Moscow's agreement with Sudan's state representatives indicates an important change of course. In the disastrous conflict that erupted last year between the Sudanese army and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Kremlin at first backed the........

© Deutsche Welle