MOSCOW. Dec 9 (Interfax) - Russia will set up a naval facility in the Red Sea.
Russia and Sudan signed an agreement on December 1 to create a Russian naval facility in the Republic of Sudan.
The document was published on the Russian official legal information website on Tuesday.
The agreement states that the number of Russian troops serving at the Russian naval facility in Sudan will be no more than 300.
No more than four Russian ships, including nuclear-powered vessels, may simultaneously stay in the Russian naval facility in Sudan. Russia may use Sudanese airspace, according to the document.
"This agreement shall be in force for a period of 25 years and shall then be automatically extended for subsequent ten-year periods unless one of the Parties notifies the other party in writing via diplomatic channels that it desires to terminate it at least 12 months prior to the expiry of its period of validity," the agreement says.
The agreement was signed in Khartoum on July 23, 2019 and in Moscow on December 1, 2020, it says.
The agreement on setting up a Russian naval facility in Sudan was signed "based on the common desire to strengthen and develop military cooperation aimed at consolidating the defense capabilities of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Sudan," it says.
"The presence of the naval facility of the Russian Navy in the Republic of Sudan is consistent with the goals of maintaining peace and security in the region, is of defensive nature and not directed against any other nations," it says.
The territory of the Russian naval facility, according to the document, includes a coastal area, a water area and an area of berthing space.
According to the document, the Sudanese side will be responsible for guarding the outer perimeter of the Russian naval facility, while Russia will guard the perimeter of the facility's waters and will be responsible for its air defense, internal security, and for maintaining order on its premises.
Russian servicemen may carry weapons in the territory of the Russian naval facility. Carrying and using weapons beyond the premises of the facility is possible with the consent of Sudanese authorities, the document says.
Sudan on a commercial basis will procure the Russian naval facility with power energy, fresh water, fuel and lubricants, foods and other material. Russia may either import or acquire in Sudan logistical resources, it says.
Russia will assist, free of charge, in facilitating the air defense of the naval base of the Sudanese Navy in the city of Port Sudan, developing the infrastructure of the base and develop the Sudanese Armed Forces, it says.
"To these ends, once this agreement enters into force, the Russian side will deliver weaponry, military and special equipment to the Sudanese side as the authorized bodies of the parties determine in a separate protocol," the agreement says.
It became known on November 16 that Russian President Vladimir Putin had instructed the Defense Ministry to sign an agreement with Sudan on establishing a naval facility of the Russian Navy.
Presently, Russia has a naval base abroad, at the Syrian port of Tartus.