Russian Moves in the Gulf of Guinea May Set Collision Course With US Navy

Both Russia and Turkey have made agreements with the resource-rich and strategically placed island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Russian Moves in the Gulf of Guinea May Set Collision Course With US Navy
A view of a beach club in São Tomé city on Jan. 2, 2018. Ruth McDowall/AFP via Getty Images
Darren Taylor
Updated:
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JOHANNESBURG—The Russian Navy now has broad access to the Atlantic and Mediterranean thanks to a military cooperation agreement with São Tomé and Príncipe, an archipelago with some of West Africa’s most strategic ports.

Moscow and Prime Minister Américo Ramos’s government recently ratified an agreement that permits Russian vessels, including navy warships and others under U.S. and European sanctions, to use the islands in the Gulf of Guinea as a base.