Bur Sudan Naval Base

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The Bur Sudan naval base is a planned naval base of the Russian naval fleet in the East African Sudan on the Red Sea in the access area of ​​the strategically important Bab al-Mandab sea ​​route . The base is intended to serve logistics and enable the maintenance of combat ships ( Russian Пункт материально-технического обеспечения point materialno-technitscheskowo obespetschenija , literally translated: "point of material-technical security"). Russia's influence in Arabia and the Indian Ocean should be strengthened and the fight against the Piracy are supported.

location

The base is to be built in northeast Africa on the Red Sea on the northern outskirts of Bur Sudan in Sudan.

Russian naval base

The treaty between Russia and Sudan provides for the stationing of up to 300 people, both civilian employees and members of the Russian Navy. The base will provide space for up to four ships, including nuclear-powered ones. Sudan is to provide Russia with the port infrastructure and a piece of land free of charge for the next 25 years. The security of the naval base on land is ensured by Sudan, on water and in the air it is the responsibility of Russia. The contract is to be automatically extended by 10 years. During this period, Russia is allowed to transport any type of military equipment or ammunition required for the base through Sudanese ports and airports. Russian jurisdiction applies to the naval base itself.

History, political and military importance

The Red Sea is one of the world's most important trade routes, especially for petrochemicals . Political instabilities in the region thus have an impact on the global economy.

During the colonization , Russia played no role in Africa, especially since it did not want to interfere with relations with Great Britain and France. With the end of World War II , the situation changed, and the two admirals of the Soviet Union's fleet, Nikolai Gerassimowitsch Kuznetsov and Sergei Georgievich Gorshkov, transformed the Soviet Union into a sea power. The 8th Squadron of the Soviet Union faced the American 7th Fleet during the Cold War in the Indian Ocean . She had to give up a base in Berbera in Somalia , which the Soviet Union operated from 1964 to 1977, after it sided with Ethiopia in the Ogaden War . A new base was built in 1978 on the island of Nakura , which at the time belonged to Ethiopia. But in 1990 the island was threatened by Eritrean units in the Eritrean War of Independence and abandoned by the Soviet Union.

On the one hand, the Soviet Union was able to call at friendly ports in the region, on the other hand, Moscow relied on supply ships, tankers, floating workshops and bases in order to operate without naval bases nearby. The Atlantic and Pacific were front lines in the Cold War, not the Indian Ocean, where all parties had an interest in free navigation and the fight against sea pirates.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and in the two decades that followed, Russia lost its deep-sea capability. A return to this is difficult.

Until the military coup and the formation of a government in Sudan in 2019 , the Sudan of the autocratic President Umar al-Bashir was internationally isolated. The interim government subsequently seeks better relations with the international community. Not only Russia is interested in a presence on the Red Sea.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Russia gets naval base in Sudan. www.navyrecognition.com, November 25, 2020, accessed on November 27, 2020 (English).
  2. ↑ a b c Russia wants to build a naval base in Sudan. deutsch.rt.com, November 15, 2020, accessed on November 27, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b Russia builds naval base in Sudan. www.derstandard.de, November 11, 2020, accessed on November 27, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Alexander Bratersky: Sudan to host Russian military base. www.defensenews.com, November 13, 2020, accessed on November 27, 2020 (English).
  5. ↑ a b Kirill Semjonow: Russia to establish naval base in Sudan. www.al-monitor.com, November 17, 2020, accessed on November 27, 2020 (English, registration required).

Coordinates: 19 ° 37 ′ 28.2 ″  N , 37 ° 13 ′ 34.7 ″  E