Russia’s foreign minister met with Sudan’s military rulers on Thursday, state media reported in Sudan, the latest leg of Sergey Lavrov’s tour of Africa.
The top Russian diplomat’s trip to Africa has sought to strengthen ties and expand influence at a time when the West has sought to isolate Moscow with sanctions over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Lavrov held talks with General Abdel Fattah Burhan, the head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereignty Council, as well as his deputy, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.
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The meetings focused on improving cooperation between the two countries, state-run SUNA news agency said, without giving details.
In a subsequent press conference, Lavrov acknowledged the presence of Russian-owned mining companies in Sudan, “mainly in the field of developing the mineral resource base.”
”We appreciate the attention that the Sudanese leadership pays them”, added Lavrov.
According to a recent report by the Associated Press, the Wagner Group – a military contractor owned by an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin – has a strong presence in remote provinces of Sudan. According to Sudanese officials and documents shared with the PA, the group was given control of various Sudanese gold mines by the country’s military leaders in exchange for military and intelligence training.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with Sudan’s military leadership on Thursday (Press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry via AP)
The Biden administration in January expanded US sanctions against Wagner Group and related companies and individuals for their role in the war in Ukraine and mercenary activities, including human rights abuses, in Africa.
When asked about the group in the Khartoum press, Lavrov said private Russian companies operate in Africa at the request of African governments, including that of the Central African Republic. In that African country, Wagner fighters roam the capital Bangui in nondescript military vehicles, guard the country’s gold and diamond mines, and have helped keep President Faustin-Archange Touadera in power.
“We have commented more than once on the activities of our private military companies operating in Africa at the direct request of the governments of the respective countries,” Lavrov said. “This also applies to the Central African Republic, and is a contribution to the normalization of the situation in the whole region, where terrorist gangs continue to be active”.
Lavrov’s visit to Sudan comes as his military rulers are in talks with some political forces in the African country to restore a civilian government after more than a year of military rule following the October 2021 military coup.
On Thursday, senior diplomats from the United States and other European nations wrapped up two days of talks with Sudanese representatives to push for a definitive deal to return to the transition to democracy in Sudan, deeply embroiled in a spiral of political and economic crisis.
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The coup derailed Sudan’s short-lived democratic transition that followed the removal of longtime autocratic president Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 amid a popular uprising against his repressive Islamist-backed government.
Lavrov arrived in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, after visiting Mali and Mauritania in what was his second trip to Africa this year. Central to his appeal to African nations has been the choice of Russia as an anti-imperialist force, drawing on resentment of Western colonialism and oppression on the continent.
Russia’s growing influence was particularly evident in Burkina Faso in January, when protesters condemning France and the Economic Community of West African States waved Russian flags in the streets of the capital, Ouagadougou.
Underscoring Sudan’s volatile situation, a 15-year-old was killed on Thursday after being hit on the head by a tear gas canister fired by security forces in Omdurman, near Khartoum, a medical group said.
Sudan’s doctors’ committee said the teenager was taking part in anti-government protests, which have become nearly weekly events in Khartoum and other major cities since the military took over. No further details were provided.
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Most of the demonstrations are led by more ardent factions of Sudan’s sprawling pro-democracy network who refuse to negotiate with military leaders.
