Azernews.Az

Turkey and Azerbaijan with Georgia are lobbying NATO to use the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars regional railway for the transport from Afghanistan, Georgia Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze at a meeting with journalists.

"The Georgian side offers the ISAF and NATO two things. First - Georgia's participation in operations in Afghanistan after 2014, although the mission has not been determined. Apart from this, we have the willingness to make a financial contribution to the development of Afghan security forces. Second - we offer the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which is the shortest, and cheapest way out of Afghanistan after 2014," Panjikidze said.

She stressed that it is a project of the three countries.

"Turkey and Azerbaijan are very interested in this road was used, and they are also lobbying for it," Panjikidze said. "First we stated about it a long time ago. We just try to push this question at every meeting. We do this during bilateral meetings, and it is possible that some countries will take out their cargo on their own. We already know the similar interests of some countries."

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being built in accordance with an inter-governmental agreement reached by Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. The railway will increase the flow of containers and other types of cargo from Asia to Europe. Its throughput capacity will peak at 17 million tons of cargo per year. Initially, the capacity will be 6.5 million tons of consignments and 1 million passengers.

Azerbaijan has allocated a loan worth $775 million for the construction of the Georgian section of the railway. Funding for the project from the State Oil Fund is carried out in accord with the 2007 presidential decree on taking measures within the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.