Hand of Putin seen in Sudan president’s ‘surprise’ Syria visit
Move may be bid to bring Al Assad regime back into the Arab League and strengthen Moscow’s grip in Africa
Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir landed in Syria on Sunday for the first visit by an Arab League leader since the start of the civil war – on a Russian plane.
This detail raised questions over Moscow’s role in brokering the trip, one that Syrian President Bashar Al Assad said would serve as a “strong push” towards restoring ties between the two Arab states.
Russia, a key ally of the Syrian government, has extended its diplomatic influence in recent months to secure support for Mr Al Assad’s continued control over Syria from rivals, including western governments and Arab League states.
Sudan never publicly supported attempts to overthrow Mr Al Assad but its backing of a decision by the Arab League to impose sanctions on Damascus and terminate its membership in the pan-Arab body in 2011 strained oncewarm relations.
“Al Bashir’s visit to Syria has all the markings of Putin and a few others,” says Theodore Karasik, senior adviser at Gulf State Analytics based in Washington. “The idea is to bring Syria back into the international community and the first step is bringing the Arabs together.
“Russia wants political processes to move quicker in the new year, especially with its Arab partners.”
Moscow has not publicly acknowledged any involvement in Sunday’s meeting, which the Russian Foreign Ministry hopes will contribute to reinstating Syria’s membership in the Arab League.
But the visit comes against a backdrop of strengthening economic ties between Moscow and cash-strapped Khartoum. It also follows an inter-ministerial trade meeting in Moscow last week, in which the two countries pledged to bolster economic relations.
Russia deposited $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) in Sudan’s central bank to try to stabilise its currency, which has plummeted by 85 per cent against the dollar this year, pro-government media outlet Sudani Net reported on Wednesday.
Moscow is one of Sudan’s principal backers at the UN Security Council and has opposed initiatives to send peacekeeping missions to Darfur, where the government is accused of human rights abuses.
Last year, Mr Putin moved to enhance ties with Sudan as part of a wider bid to shore up Russian influence in Africa.
Mr Putin sent a plane to fly Mr Al Bashir from Khartoum to Russia last year for the Sudanese President’s first official trip to the country since coming to power in 1989.
During the meeting, Mr Al Bashir embraced Russia’s position and its efforts to defend Sudan at the UN Security Council, and asked Russia for “protection from the aggressive acts of the US”.
In a meeting in July, Mr Putin praised the development in bilateral relations between the two countries and said that Russia looked forward to enhancing the partnership.
Russian companies are already capitalising on the warming ties.
Moscow has signed mineral deals in Sudan and Russia’s secretive Wagner Group, which is responsible for sending thousands of Russian mercenaries to Syria, has reportedly won gold and diamond concessions.
Last week, the Russian-Sudanese Intergovernment Commission on Trade and Economic Co-operation met in Moscow, where delegates discussed trade and potential investments.
Sudan proposed settling debts owed to Russia by providing benefits to its companies, including gas and oil companies operating in Sudan, Russian state-run news agency Sputnik reported.
That same day, Russian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Dmitry Kobylkin said that Russia’s Gazprombank was considering investing in the construction of an oil refinery in Sudan.
This week, Moscow said it was ready to assist in building a cross-continental railway to connect East and West Africa. The Trans-African railway, running from Dakar to Port Sudan and Cape Town, is expected to boost trade for Sudan.
Sudan’s economy has been hit hard since it lost three quarters of its oil wealth in 2011 after the secession of South Sudan.
Economic hardship has accelerated this year after the value of the Sudanese pound plummeted by 85 per cent against the dollar and inflation reached nearly 70 per cent in September – one of the highest levels in the world.
This year, Sudan began reforms including austerity measures in line with recommendations by the International Monetary Fund to try to bolster the economy.
Mr Al Bashir’s visit on Sunday is the first since he visited the Syrian capital in 2008 for the Arab League summit.
Although ties with Syria have since soured, Sudan never severed trade or diplomatic ties with Damascus, even after most Arab states ended relations.
Throughout the course of the conflict, Khartoum vocally opposed any form of foreign military intervention in Syria and maintained the position that only a political solution could end the war.
Mr Al Assad and other Syrian officials accused Sudan of turning its back on Damascus despite support it had lent to Mr Al Bashir’s government in the past.
The Syrian president was among the leaders who in an Arab League meeting in 2009 protected the Sudanese president from charges of orchestrating the rape, killing and widespread pillaging in Darfur.
Mr Al Assad described charges by the International Criminal Court against Mr Al Bashir as a disrespect of Sudan’s sovereignty, and said that charges were a “pretext” and a “fabrication”.
Sudan’s deadly conflict in Darfur broke out in 2003 when ethnic minority groups took up arms against Mr Bashir’s Arab-dominated government, which launched a brutal counter-insurgency.
The UN says at least 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced as a result of the conflict.
Top Sudanese officials including Mr Al Bashir now claim that the conflict has ended, but the region continues to see regular fighting between ethnic and tribal groups.
The visit comes against a backdrop of strengthening ties between Moscow and cash-strapped Khartoum