<p>CAIRO &mdash; A top Sudanese military official said the government will review an agreement with Russia to establish a navy base in the African country. </p>
<p>The remarks about the deal, which dates back to the government of now-deposed Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and has not been ratified by the Sudanese parliament, indicate that Khartoum is seeking some changes to the agreement. </p>
<p>Sudan’s Chief of General Staff, Gen. Mohammed Othman al-Hussein told Blue Nile television station late on Tuesday that negotiations are underway with Russian officials “to achieve Sudan’s interests.” </p>
<p>News about the deal surfaced last December on the official portal of the Russian government. The deal allows Russia to set up a naval base with up to 300 Russian troops, and also to simultaneously keep up to four navy ships, including nuclear-powered ones, in Port Sudan on the Red Sea. </p>
<p>In exchange, Russia is to provide Sudan with weapons and military equipment. The agreement is to last for 25 years, with automatic extensions for 10-year periods if neither side objects to it.</p>
<p>There was no immediate comment from Moscow.</p>
<p>“We are negotiating a possible review to this deal, to ensure that our interests and our profits are taken into account,” al-Hussein said. </p>
<p>Moscow has for years sought to establish a regular naval presence in various parts of the world. The Russian navy already has a major presence in the Mediterranean Sea, with a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, currently the only such facility that Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.</p>
<p>Sudan is on a fragile path to democracy after a popular uprising led the military to al-Bashir in April 2019. The east African nation is now ruled by a joint military and civilian government that seeks better ties with the United States and the West after nearly three decades of international isolation.</p>