Cavusoglu says BTK railway to be opened in 2017
By Rashid Shirinov
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is expected to be opened in 2017, said Mevlut Cavusoglu, Foreign Minister of Turkey.
He made the remark as he met with the Foreign Minister of Georgia, Mikheil Janelidze, in Ankara on January 10, Anadolu news agency reported.
Being constructed under a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement, BTK is expected to expand multi-modal transportation opportunities, ensure the growth of passenger and freight transportation and boost the transit potential of the regional countries.
The peak capacity of the railway will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.
The Turkish minister further added that Turkey fully supports the process of Georgia's joining the NATO.
“We also advocate for the speedy implementation of the agreements on simplification of visa regime between EU and Georgia,” added Cavusoglu, emphasizing support for the territorial integrity of Georgia.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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