MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has signed an agreement with Sudan to establish a navy base in the African nation for at least a quarter century, part of Moscow’s efforts to expand its global reach.
The deal published Tuesday on the official portal of government documents allows Russia to simultaneously keep up to four navy ships, including nuclear-powered ones, in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The agreement lasts for 25 years and could be automatically extended for 10-year periods if none of the parties objects to it.
The document states that the Russian navy base should “help strengthen peace and stability in the region” and isn’t directed against any third parties. In exchange for Sudan’s permission to set up the base, Russia will provide Sudan with weapons and military equipment.
The new agreement is part of Moscow’s efforts to restore a regular naval presence in various parts of the globe. The Russian military footprint withered after the 1991 Soviet collapse amid economic woes and military funding shortages, but President Vladimir Putin has moved steadily to rebuild the nation’s military might amid tensions with the West.
The Russian navy already has established a major presence in the Mediterranean, thanks to a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, currently the only such facility that Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, allowing President Bashar Assad’s government to reclaim control over most of the country following a devastating civil war.
In 2017, Moscow struck a deal with Assad to extend its lease on Tartus for 49 years. After signing the agreement that allows Russia to keep up to 11 warships there, it has moved to modernize and expand the facility.
As part of Putin’s efforts to beef up the military, the Russian navy in recent years has revived the Soviet-era practice of constantly rotating its warships in the Mediterranean.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.