Putin invited the Iranians to complete the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway

Baku/20.07.22/Turan: Russia is ready to build a section of the Rasht-Astara railway in Iran to make the North-South transport corridor work, Russian President Vladimir Putins stated to journalists on Tuesday. 

According to him, Russia is engaged in the decision to restore the transport infrastructure in the South Caucasus with access to Iran, so that the North-South corridor will work. This is a short route with access to the southern ports of Iran and further to the Persian Gulf and India.

“There is one specific section - Rasht - Astara. This is a small area in Iranian territory, 146 kilometers. Azerbaijan is interested in the construction of this section. We recently met with President Aliyev within the framework of the Caspian Summit, we discussed this,” Putin said. According to him, Iran has also confirmed its interest. 

“Russia is interested in this, because we will go directly to the Persian Gulf from the north of Russia, from St. Petersburg. The question is to build a section of only 146 kilometers. The Russian side is ready to do this,” Putin said, adding that all that remained was to agree on the conditions for the construction.

The railway transport corridor "North-South" runs through Russia, Azerbaijan to the southern ports of Iran. In the future, it is planned to open a road along this route. --02D--