Sudanese general: Russia sought Red Sea port in exchange for weapons

(Patria) - Sudanese General Yasser al-Atta said that Russia has requested a fuel port on the Red Sea in exchange for weapons and ammunition, and that agreements with Russia will be signed soon.

The two countries signed an agreement for a naval base under former president Omar Al-Bashir, but army leaders later said the plan was under review and never materialized.

Russia has previously developed ties with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group, an enemy of the army in the year-long war and which Western diplomats say also had ties to the Russian private military group Wagner, Al Arabiya reported.

For more than a year, fierce fighting has raged between the regular army, under army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.