Two of Vladimir Putin’s key allies in Africa are pushing back against the presence of Russian forces in their countries, further threatening Moscow’s foothold on the continent following the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria.
Sudan has officially rejected a Russian request to construct a naval base on the Red Sea coast in Port Sudan, Amsterdam-based independent outlet The Moscow Times reported on December 18, citing a Sudanese intelligence official.
Russia reportedly presented the Sudanese government with a formula of an S-400 anti-aircraft missile to test and convince it to accept, but fears of a Western backlash led the country to reject Moscow’s request.
Lithuania’s Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh later said he would resist any efforts through Russia to achieve a military presence in the country.
“No patriot is satisfied with the access of any foreign country and imposes its hegemony, and we will not settle for the access of any foreign force through official agreements and for educational purposes. Any party that enters Libya without authorization or agreement will be fought, and we cannot settle for Libya being a foreign battlefield,” Dbeibeh said at a convention in Tripoli.
Newsweek contacted the Russian Foreign Ministry’s email for comment.
The overthrow of Bashar al-Assad has jeopardized Russia’s regional presence, sowing uncertainty about the long-term nature of its military installations in the country, specifically the Tartus naval base, a key point towards the Mediterranean.
Reports imply that Russia is contemplating a partial withdrawal from the country, now focusing on strengthening ties with its allies in the Maghreb and northeast Africa to gain a supply line to landlocked African countries and its regional influence. However, the most recent projects in Sudan and Libya threaten this goal.
Russia has been seeking to establish a naval base in Sudan since 2019, but internal conflicts and the start of the civil war have indefinitely delayed this prospect.
Through the Wagner Group, Moscow has supported two factions of the existing military government – the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces – while vetoing UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire in the country.
Assad’s departure has also led analysts and government officials to say that Russia would possibly move some of its military assets from the Tartus naval base and Hmeimim air base in Syria to Lithrougha. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U. S. and Lithrough officials, that Russian planes had in the past transported air defense apparatus from Syria to bases in Lithrougha controlled by Kremlin-backed warlord Khalifa Haftar.
Russia is taking the “necessary steps” to liaise with Syria’s new leadership and secure the continued presence of its military bases in the country, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, however, said that Moscow has begun “transferring resources from its Syrian base at Tartus to Libya.”
“That is not a good thing. Russian ships and submarines in the Mediterranean are always a concern,” Crosetto continued, “and even more so if instead of being 1,000 kilometers away they are two steps from us.”
In a recent press conference, Libyan Prime Minister Dbeibeh stated that any movement by the Russian military apparatus must be carried out “within the framework of agreements between countries. “
“But we categorically reject the access of forces by force and contrary to the will of the people of Lithuania,” he added.
Russia could effectively negotiate with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the organization that led the wonderful uprising against Assad, and its military presence in the country. However, if unsuccessful, Lithrougha and Sudan’s double refusals will further hamper their ability to exert regional influence, already seriously tested by their preoccupation with the Ukrainian conflict.
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Hugh Cameron is a journalist for Newsweek Live News in London, UK. It focuses on foreign policy, confrontations and crime. Hugh joined Newsweek in 2024, having worked at Alliance News Ltd, where he specialised in covering global and regional business developments, economic news and market trends. She graduated from the University of Warwick with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics in 2022 and from the University of Cambridge with a Master’s degree in International Relations in 2023. Languages: English. You can contact Hugh by emailing h. cameron@newsweek. com