![Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Al Sadiq hold a joint news conference in Sudan on February 9, 2023. [Mahmoud Hjaj - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/AA-20230209-30235796-30235794-RUSSIAN_FM_LAVROV_IN_SUDAN.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
An agreement to establish a naval base by Russia on the Sudanese Red Sea Coast is moving forward, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said Thursday, Anadolu News Agency reports.
“You know this agreement has been signed earlier between the two countries and it’s only waiting to be legislated,” he said at a news conference in Khartoum after meeting Sudanese military chief, Abdul Fattah Alburhan.
Sudan declared, in 2021, that it had frozen the agreement with Russia because it was signed by the former regime of President Omer Al-Bashir.
The US Ambassador to Sudan warned Khartoum not to allow Russia to establish a naval base because it would harm the country’s interests.
Lavrov has further welcomed a Sudanese decision to close its borders with the Central African Republic (CAR) to prevent the movement of armed groups.
READ: Russia Lavrov visits Sudan on diplomatic push in Africa’s Sahel