Authorities said a delegation of senior Sudanese officials is traveling to Russia for talks on cooperation, including the deputy leader of the country’s military-led ruling council.
Since an October 25 coup, Sudan has become increasingly isolated, with foreign aid being curtailed as part of the international community’s response to the military takeover.
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chairman of the interim Sovereignty Council, tweeted, “Through this visit, we seek to develop relations between Sudan and Russia to greater horizons, and improve the current cooperation between us in numerous spheres.”
Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, is the commander of Sudan’s formidable paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. He was part of a military takeover on October 25 that threw Sudan into political and economic chaos and garnered widespread international condemnation.
Both countries are going through a difficult time, therefore the formal visit is timely. After ordering soldiers into eastern Ukraine, Russia is facing further Western sanctions, while the US has threatened Sudan’s military with penalties in the aftermath of the coup.
Following the coup, the East African country, which is heavily reliant on foreign aid and investment, was effectively shut off from both. In recent weeks, its currency has begun to depreciate on the underground market.
The Sovereign Council stated that the Sudanese delegation’s travel to Moscow was “in the context of exchanging ideas and exploring methods to promote and strengthen relations between Sudan and Russia.”
According to state news agency SUNA, Dagalo will be accompanied on the trip by the country’s finance, energy, agriculture, and mining ministries, as well as the chairman of the Sudanese chambers of business.
Dagalo has undertaken a number of diplomatic missions this year, including to the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, among others.
Last year, Facebook removed accounts that it claimed were used to expand Dagalo’s influence and were linked to the Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA).
Unrest is still present.
Sudan has been beset by instability since an October coup staged by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who has served as the country’s de facto leader since the ouster of longstanding leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
According to an independent group of medics, the country has been shaken by regular anti-coup rallies that have been met with a crackdown that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds.
After the coup, Russia, which is active in Sudan’s gold sector, urged for moderation but did not denounce it.
According to Sputnik News, a supply of wheat was scheduled to be sent to Sudan as humanitarian relief in January.
General al-Burhan, who visited Russia in 2019, stated in December that relations with Moscow were good and that a deal for a Russian naval base on the country’s Red Sea coast was being worked out.
Sudan has been militarily reliant on Russia for decades as a result of Washington’s crushing sanctions against al-government. Bashir’s Sudan has drawn closer to the United States since his fall in 2019, with the US removing Khartoum on its debilitating blacklist in 2020.
