By Mikhail Khodarenok /RT/ – The Russian fleet needs a well-developed system of overseas military bases. Its planned logistics center on Sudan’s Red Sea coast is the first step – but one of exceptional significance.
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s defence ministry to conclude an agreement with Sudan on setting up a naval facility in the African country.
Last week, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin submitted a proposal to Putin on establishing a naval logistics center in Sudan, which would provide maintenance for Russian warships deployed to the region. According to the document, the city of Khartoum will grant a piece of its territory for the construction of the Russian base. The facility will accommodate up to 300 personnel and four vessels, including nuclear-powered ships.
Additionally, Russia will be able to use Sudan’s seaports and airports to transport in and out weapons, ammunition, and any equipment required to operate the base and “keep the warships mission-ready.” According to the agreement, the host country will collect no tolls or fees of any kind.
But the question is, how much does Russia need a naval base in Sudan?
The issue of establishing and improving naval bases to operate Russia’s fleet in foreign seas has always been a priority for the country’s military and political leadership. For example, before the end of World War I, it was agreed by the Allied Powers that the Russian Empire, as one of the victors, would receive the Turkish Straits (that is, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles) and claim the port town of Bizerte in Tunisia, which would serve as a naval base for the Russian fleet in the Mediterranean.
At the Potsdam Conference of 1945, Soviet state leader Joseph Stalin sought trusteeship over Libya, formerly an Italian colony, which had joined the war on the side of the Axis Powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan. Had that happened, Moscow would have acquired important strongholds on the Mediterranean coast.
It should be noted, however, that the history of the Soviet Navy, when it comes to military bases and ports, has many tragic chapters. For one reason or another, most sites were lost, and, in many cases, there is no chance of reclaiming them.
Over the years, the Soviet Navy had fleet logistics centers, naval stations, and naval bases in Cuba (at Cienfuegos, where Soviet warships could use the mooring area and resupply; a number of floating workshops were also stationed there), Poland (Świnoujście), Germany (Rostock), Finland (Porkkalanniemi), Somalia (Berbera), Vietnam (Cam Ranh), Syria (Tartus), Yemen (Al Hudaydah), Ethiopia (Nokra), Egypt, Libya, and several other countries.
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