Azernews.Az

Exports of Azeri oil entering Georgian ports by rail have been suspended after the line was damaged in Georgia by a blast on a railway bridge, oil giant BP said Monday.
The Azerbaijan State Railway Office has confirmed the halt of exports by rail.
The bridge, located near the town of Kaspi, 45 km. west of the capital Tbilisi, was destroyed on Saturday. The Georgian government accused Moscow of blowing up the bridge. However, Russian Defense Ministry officials vehemently dismissed the allegations.
The subversion has severed the train link between eastern and western Georgia and blocked access to the country`s seaports.
According to Azerbaijan`s Railway Office, 650 railway carriages filled with oil and 450 empty cisterns are now to be returned to Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijani territory, ten trains consisting of 50 railway carriages each have been brought to a halt.
Also, the railway link between Georgia and Armenia has been disrupted as a result of the explosion. The spokesman for the Armenian transport ministry said 72 freight trains en route to Armenia were at a standstill in the neighboring country.
Repair work has begun on the damaged bridge and is expected to take ten days. Azerbaijani and Armenian specialists will be involved in the operations, as well. Workers have already arrived and the required construction materials have been delivered to Georgia, the country`s railway administration said.
The damage caused by the explosion is estimated at $1 million, officials said.
The railway line runs from Tbilisi, through the Georgian town of Gori, before splitting in three and running to the Black Sea ports of Poti and Batumi and southwest to near the Turkish border.
BP Azerbaijan, the operator of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, earlier suspended the movement of oil through the conduit due to a fire that hit its Turkish section, and a pipeline to Supsa in Georgia was closed due to security concerns.