(MENAFN- AzerNews)
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
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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