Pashinyan: Armenia-Azerbaijan railroad to be used for international cargo transportation

YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. The railway that will reconnect Armenia with Azerbaijan will become a route for international cargo transportation, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Wednesday during a government Q&A session in the parliament today.

Pashinyan recalled that the agreement to restore the Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Hradiz railroad between the countries had been reached by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan during a meeting in Brussels.

"Upon my return, I immediately formed a working group, which is working on the organization of the construction of the Armenian section of the railroad,” he said.

He said also that Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan recently held a meeting in Yerevan with Russian co-chairman of the trilateral working group, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov to discuss the technical and financial issues of the construction of the railroad.

"We have agreed that the railroad will operate in accordance with accepted international border and customs rules on the principle of reciprocity under the sovereignty and jurisdiction of the countries,” Pashinyan said, adding that there will be customs and other controls at the border points.

“We should also agree on the parameters of the construction of the railroad so that they can connect," he said.

As for the overland roads, Pashinyan said that proposals were formed and sent to Azerbaijan, Russia and international partners.

"As soon as we get Azerbaijan's consent, we will be ready to start the process of restoration and construction of overland road infrastructure," the Prime Minister said.

Earlier, Pashinyan set up a working group to deal with the restoration of the railway tracks from Years (Ararat province of Armenia) to the border with Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan and across the Meghri sub-region of the southern Armenian province of Syunik.

The 10-member working group is led by Artashes Tumanyan, a former ambassador to Iran, who was appointed as advisor to Pashinyan after his resignation. Tumanyan is to report on the progress of the work to the Prime Minister every three months.

Armenia will gain access to Iran and Russia through this railroad, and Azerbaijan will have a railway connection to its exclave Nakhichevan.

According to the estimates of the Armenian Ministry of Economy, the construction of Yeraskh-Julfa-Ordubad-Meghri-Horadiz railroad may cost $1.2 billion. The construction of the 45-km long railway section through Armenian Meghri may require about $200 million. -0-