Central African Republic Wants Russian Military Base

The Central African Republic (CAR) has expressed interest in establishing a Russian military base on its territory.

"Now we need a Russian military base with 5,000 to 10,000 soldiers. At the same time, they could be deployed to other countries if necessary. We have asked for this. When [President of the National Assembly of the Central African Republic Simplis] Sarangi came to the Russian Federation, he reiterated that we need it," CAR Ambassador to Russia Leon Dodonou-Pounagaza told Russian newspaper Izvestiya on Monday.

According to him, there are still threats to security in the Central African Republic. The envoy pointed out that there are people with weapons among the refugees from Sudan.

He added that, in his opinion, military cooperation with Moscow should continue, even though it displeases some countries.

Meanwhile, Russia wants to set up a navy base on the Red Sea in Sudan. Sudan is reportedly expecting economic assistance from Russia in exchange for allowing it to build a naval base. The African country will also receive free assistance in search-and-rescue operations and support in anti-sabotage efforts from Russia.

John Godfrey, the first U.S. Ambassador to Sudan in 25 years, warned Khartoum in September 2022 against Russia’s building of a military base in its country.

In February this year, Sudan’s ruling military concluded a review of an agreement with Russia on building the base.