The logistics support point of the Russian Navy is designed to carry out repairs, resupply and rest of the crew members of Russian warships
MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Nikolai Pankov as his official representative at the ratification by the State Duma and the Federation Council of the agreement on the establishment of a logistics point for the Russian Navy in Sudan. The corresponding decree of the head of state was published on Thursday on the official portal of legal information.
"To appoint State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Pankov Nikolay Aleksandrovich as the official representative of the President of the Russian Federation when the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation consider the issue of ratification of the agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Sudan on the establishment of a logistics point for the Russian Navy on the territory of the Republic of Sudan, signed in Khartoum on July 23, 2019 and in Moscow on December 1, 2020," the order says.
Logistics Support Point (MTO) The Russian Navy is designed to carry out repairs, resupply and rest of the crew members of Russian warships. The document assumed that the Sudan would transfer the territory and real estate to the Russian Federation for free use for the entire term of the agreement, including the coastal zone and the water area with the mooring front zone (the parking area of watercraft). The maximum number of military and civilian personnel of the MTO point should not exceed 300 people, its increase is possible in agreement with the Sudan. The term of the agreement is 25 years with an automatic extension for 10-year periods if neither party notifies the other in writing through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the agreement one year before the expiration of the next period.
On June 1, Sudan announced the revision of the agreement with the Russian Federation on the establishment of a base on the Red Sea. As the country's chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Usman al-Hussein, said in an interview with the Sudanese TV channel Blue Nile, Khartoum is negotiating with Moscow to revise the treaty "to take into account its interests and benefits." The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted on June 10 that the text of the Russian-Sudanese agreement may change, while Moscow confirms its interest in cooperation with Khartoum. She recalled that the aforementioned agreement was signed by the authorized representative of the Sudanese Transitional Military Council in Khartoum on July 23, 2019, that is, after the change of the political regime in Sudan (on April 11, 2019, a military coup was carried out in Sudan, the army removed President Omar al-Bashir, who had been in power for 30 years in the country). However, this document has not yet been ratified in the Sudan, since there is no legislative authority with such powers in the country. Accordingly, before the entry into force of this agreement, its text may be amended by agreement and at the discretion of the parties.
