Russia calls for calm in Sudan

Russia on Thursday called for calm in Sudan and expressed hope that close bilateral ties would not be threatened, irrespective of who was in power.

Huge crowds of Sudanese demanding the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir massed in the centre of Khartoum as the army promised an "important announcement" after months of protests.

"We are monitoring this situation very carefully," Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"And we are hoping that first and foremost there won't be an escalation that could claim human lives," he said, calling the protests an "internal affair".

"We expect that whatever the outcome, Russian-Sudanese relations" will be a priority for Khartoum, Peskov said.

Russia has been trying to expand its footprint in Africa and said in January that it had sent "instructors" to Sudan, following reports of sightings of Russian-speaking soldiers in Khartoum.

Putin met Bashir last July in Moscow where the Sudanese leader said Russia was playing an important role in "preparing Sudanese military personnel".

The protests, which erupted in December over the government's tripling of the price of bread, have become the biggest challenge to Bashir's iron-fisted rule spanning three decades.