NAIROBI
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Yousif Sharif has said the establishment of a Russian naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast is “still on the table,” stressing that negotiations are moving in a positive direction with no obstacles.
Sharif, currently on an official visit to Moscow, told the Russian RT channel on Wednesday that there are no disagreements with Russia over the issue of the Russian naval base in Sudan.
The Sudanese minister added that such naval base will not pose a threat to any country or to Sudan’s sovereignty, citing Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa, which hosts a number of foreign military bases.
“We did not discuss what we wanted to agree on, as this had already been signed in an agreement between the two countries, and there was no disagreement on this matter,” the top Sudanese diplomat said.
He earlier said following his meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow that both countries are “in complete agreement” on the issue.
“We have reached a mutual understanding on this issue. Therefore, the matter is very simple. … We have agreed on everything,” he also said.
The two countries initially signed a preliminary agreement in November 2020 to establish what was described as a Russian naval logistics hub on Sudan’s Red Sea coast.
