Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 27
Trend:
Azerbaijan has good potential for transit transportation not only from east to west, but also from north to south, Vladimir Yevseyev, director of the Russian Center for Public Policy Research, told Trend Oct. 27.
"Azerbaijan, on the backdrop of improving relations with Russia, has an opportunity to review on a practical plane the issue of becoming a transit country," says Yevseyev.
"No need to look only to the west," he further noted. "Azerbaijan has good potential in terms of the North-South corridor running from Russia to Iran."
The expert also said there are a number of promising projects in this area, noting in particular Russia's capability to carry out natural gas swaps with Iran through Azerbaijan's territory.
"I believe this is one of the possibilities that can be used to improve the social and economic situation inside Russia," said Yevseyev. "It is necessary to establish the transit of gas not only to Europe, but also to Iran via Azerbaijan."
He said that the reason why this project has not been implemented yet is not with Azerbaijan, but in the fact that Iran is not yet ready for it, including in terms of infrastructure.
Furthermore, Yevseyev believes the transit from Russia to Iran through Azerbaijan can also be carried out in the field of rail transportation.
"It seems to me that this area is underestimated," said the center's director. "Too much attention is paid to the use of transit opportunities from the west to the east, but few from north to south."
The expert expressed satisfaction with the improvement of Russian-Azerbaijani relations, which is observed in recent years, and noted that this will open new opportunities for Azerbaijan.
Edited by CN
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