*Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the head of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin are interested in the further development of the International North-South Modal Transport Corridor: Moscow’s military station in Sudan does not have to be Russia’s priority then
The Russian frigate “Marshal Shaposhnikov” sailed into the Red Sea on Friday, December 5th , from the direction of Vladivostok through the strategic passage of Bab el Mandeb on the way to Suez. Before entering the Red Sea, “Marshal Shaposhnikov “, this time escorting the tanker “Boris Butoma”, performed a “mission in the Gulf of Aden… simulating a response to enemy action” (https://www.azernews.az/region/251248.html).
The sailing of that Russian frigate towards Suez will probably be the subject of interest of many observers, especially after the recent news that the regime of Sudanese general Abdel Fattah al—Burhan has offered Moscow to set up its first naval base in Africa in the port of Port Sudan (on the photo) (https://www.wsj.com/world/africa/sudan-offers-russia-its-first-naval-base-in-africa-0748e810?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1).
Talks between Moscow and Khartoum about possible Russian naval installations in Port Sudan have been ongoing since 2017, with both sides variably approaching towards to that goal. Meanwhile, Western strategists are considering in detail the possible geostrategic consequences of such a, still uncertain agreement. (https://lansinginstitute.org/2025/12/04/russias-naval-base-in-sudan-a-strategic-foothold-on-the-red-sea-limiting-u-s-operational-freedom-near-the-suez-canal/).
In such uncertainty, the question is whether “Marshal Shaposhnikov” while sailing this time through the Red Sea, let’s say, “pause” nearby Port Sudan? The answer is still uncertain. This dilemma, could meanwhile, open up space for a different view of Russia’s new-century ambitions to be more present in maritime areas far beyond the former “global Soviet geopolitical amphitheatre”.
The far-reaching agreements between the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, and his host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the end of last week in New Delhi, could offer some guidelines.
Namely, both Putin and Modi expressed this time an expressed interest in new connection potentials along the multimodal 7,200 kilometre long International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which could effectively connect Mumbai with Saint Petersburg.
In a pivot from the markets of Europe and the West, refocused on strengthening business primarily with Asia and then Africa, Russia is more than interested in marking stable export routes.
Along that path, the Russian military-naval radar is likely on the look out far from the Red Sea too.
