In this regard, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure David Khudatyan stated that there is a clear understanding in Armenia that the rehabilitation works on the railway sections to Azerbaijan and Turkey will be carried out jointly with the Russian side.
This is reported by Caliber.Az with reference to Armenian media.
Earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan instructed the state-owned South Caucasus Railway Company to urgently restore the border railroad sections leading to Turkey and Azerbaijan. According to the head of the government, the order concerns the section from Yeraskh to the border with Azerbaijan (Nakhchivan), as well as the section from Akhurik to the border with Turkey.
“Armenia continues negotiations with Russia on the restoration of Ijevan and Akhurik sections of the railroad. We have an understanding that the rehabilitation works on the mentioned sections will be carried out jointly with the Russian side, i.e. with its direct participation,” Khudatyan said.
Key element of the region’s normalization
The restoration of these transport communications is a key element of efforts to normalize the region after the 2020 Karabakh war.
Unblocking economic and transport links in the South Caucasus is one of the central goals of the trilateral statements signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia.
The restoration of these Soviet-era rail lines will allow the region to integrate into major international transportation corridors, potentially linking the Caspian region to Turkey and Europe, thus increasing the economic stability of the entire South Caucasus.
