After a Sudanese hint... American fears of establishing a Russian naval base on the Red Sea

Media reports revealed the growing concern of the US authorities about the possibility of the Sudanese military council allowing Russia to build a naval base on the country's strategic coast on the Red Sea.

Sudanese officials in recent weeks have proposed reviving a suspended 2020 agreement that would give Moscow a 25-year lease on a base in Port Sudan — an agreement the United States has done its best to cancel.

The deputy head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Lieutenant-General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, returned Wednesday from Moscow, and told reporters in Khartoum that the agreement to build a naval base on the Red Sea coast is still being studied by the Sudanese Ministry of Defense.

He said that during his trip to Moscow, Russia expressed its willingness to invest in Sudan, adding: "We have no problem in dealing with Russia or anyone to build a naval base along the Red Sea coast as long as it does not threaten our security interests."

And the newspaper "The Wall Street Journal" quoted a US military official as saying, "Daqlo will eagerly trade with a Russian base in Port Sudan for its direct and indirect support."

The newspaper reported that US concern about Russian facilities in Sudan is part of a "greater renewal of great-power competition for influence and military position in Africa, Ukraine and around the world".

"Anywhere he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) expands his sphere of influence is bad for us," said retired Air Force Gen. Mark Hicks, who commanded US special operations units in Africa.

In 2017, China opened its first overseas military base, in Djibouti, which overlooks vital sea lanes from the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal, and is just miles from the largest US military base in Africa, Camp Lemonnier.

The United States is now trying to block Beijing's efforts to establish a naval base in Equatorial Guinea, on the Atlantic coast of Africa, an outcome that the United States considers a particular threat to its security.

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