Russian Foreign Ministry special representative visits Baku
By Sabina Mammadli
The Russian Foreign Ministry Special Representative Igor Khovayev is on a visit to Baku to discuss prospects for signing a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a weekly briefing.
She noted that Khovayev plans to visit Yerevan for the same purpose in the near future.
“In total, Russia attaches paramount importance to the implementation of trilateral statements at the highest level, including the unblocking of transport links in the South Caucasus, delimitation and demarcation of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, and strengthening contacts between Baku and Yerevan through civil societies. We are making considerable efforts to ensure the fulfillment of the relevant agreements [signed by the Russian, Azerbaijani, and Armenian leaders],” she stated.
Further, Zakharova added that such actions will contribute to the establishment of sustainable peace in the region, which meets the interests of not only the regional states but also the neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak is also on a visit to Baku.
The minister is visiting Baku to participate in a trilateral meeting of the Russian-Azerbaijani-Iran Working Group on the development of the North-South international transport corridor.
Similarly, Iran’s Minister of Road and Urban Development Rostam Ghasemi earlier arrived in Baku to attend the same event.
During the meeting, issues on cooperation between three countries within the framework of this corridor, in particular, the acceleration of construction of the Rasht-Astara railway will be discussed.
The foundation of the International North-South Transport Corridor was laid on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement signed between Russia, Iran, and India on September 12, 2000. In total, 13 countries have ratified the agreement, including Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Russia, Türkiye, etc.
The purpose of creating a corridor is to reduce the delivery time of cargo from India to Russia, as well as to northern and western Europe. The delivery time on the current route is more than 6 weeks, it is expected to be reduced to 3 weeks via the North-South Transport Corridor.
The 175-km-long Qazvin-Rasht railway was officially put into operation on March 6, 2019, to connect Azerbaijani railways with the Iranian railway network within the corridor. In addition, the 167-km-long Rasht-Astara railway line must be built in Iran.
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Sabina Mammadli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SabinaMmdl
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