Russia has gained its first direct access to Armenia in 30 years.

Russia Gains Direct Access to Armenia for the First Time in 30 Years

For the first time since the 1990s, Russia has been able to transport goods directly to Armenia by rail. For more than 30 years, Russia had to rely on road or sea transport to deliver grain and other commodities to Armenia, which often led to uncertainty and high costs. The opening of the new route not only brings great prospects for increased trade between Russia and Armenia but also creates favorable conditions for Russia to expand its market in the entire South Caucasus region. Why did it take over 30 years to establish this corridor?

"Green Gate Company has completed the first export of Russian wheat to the Republic of Armenia through a new railway line passing through Azerbaijani territory. This first shipment was carried by 15 grain wagons from the Russian Agricultural Transport Company (Rusagrotrans), totaling 1,050 tons of third-grade wheat," the company stated.

This is the first freight train to depart from Russia, passing through Azerbaijan and Georgia, and arriving in Armenia in over 30 years. For decades, Russia's transportation of grain and other goods to Armenia could only be done via roads or by sea through Georgian ports. Railway transport previously required permission from both Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The resumption of railway transport was made possible by Azerbaijan's decision to lift restrictions on the transit of goods destined for Armenia — an agreement was reached in October this year with the participation of the governments of Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture stated, "This enables Russia to transport agricultural products directly to Armenia by rail for the first time since the early 1990s."

Armenia currently imports about 450,000 to 500,000 tons of grain annually (including wheat, barley, and corn), almost all of which comes from Russia. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture emphasized that the development of the new route will help reduce transportation costs, improve supply stability, and increase exports to countries in the South Caucasus region.

"Previously, Russia's grain transportation to Armenia mainly took place via the military-Georgian road (Voenno-Gruzinskaya doroga) at the Upper Lars border checkpoint using road transport; some grain was transported by sea to Georgian ports and then transferred by road to Armenia. These transportation methods are costly and unstable — affected by weather risks and seasonal border congestion, the Upper Lars border frequently experiences disruptions due to rockfalls and additional customs inspections. This not only delays delivery times but also increases the per-ton transportation cost for the 'last mile'." said Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.

Ekateryna Novikova, associate professor at the Department of Economic Theory at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, pointed out that transporting goods to Armenia by rail can reduce transportation costs by 30% to 40%.

Currently, Russia has completed the first shipment of wheat using 15 grain wagons. The Russian Ministry of Transport stated that it plans to transport another 132 wagons of grain by rail by the end of January 2026. In addition, Russia plans to study the feasibility of transporting other types of cargo via this route. Chernov believes, "This means the transportation model will shift from single-train shipments to regular scheduled trains, while reducing the proportion of high-cost road transport. Compared to the previous 'sea + road' and 'through Upper Lars road' transportation models, the new method is expected to achieve double-digit cost savings by reducing congestion and transshipment steps."

Novikova emphasized that in addition to grain, Russia can also transport other food items to Armenia via this railway, which will promote growth in trade volumes between the two countries this year and in the future. Chernov added that the goods that can be transported include flour and edible oil, bulk mineral fertilizers and ammonium nitrate, canned sunflower oil, sugar, building materials and ferrous metals, timber, and containers carrying fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and machinery. He noted that these are common cargo categories for mainline railway logistics in the South Caucasus region.

Novikova pointed out that developing trade logistics with Armenia has another important significance: Armenia is an important transit market for Russia's "parallel imports," a role that contributes to the growth of bilateral trade.

Chernov analyzed, "After 2022, due to the transfer of enterprises and personnel to Armenia, the promotion of ruble settlements, and the re-export of technical products through parallel imports, bilateral trade between Russia and Armenia saw significant growth, reaching a historical peak of $11.7 billion to $12 billion in 2024. However, in 2025, this trend adjusted — due to reduced scale of precious metal and diamond exports, and tightened regulations, the volume of imports from Russia to Armenia decreased significantly in the first few months of this year, and the growth rate of exports to Russia also slowed down. In this context, the new railway corridor will become a 'stabilizer' and key growth engine for trade freight."

Experts believe that the growth potential of Russia-Armenia bilateral trade is not limited to the grain export sector, but also exists in other areas.

Chernov said, "Future areas of growth in bilateral trade may include: food and food industry raw materials, agricultural chemicals and fertilizers, packaged asphalt and diesel fuel, metal and construction materials for national and infrastructure projects, as well as containerized transport of mass consumer goods and components needed for assembly production."

In addition, Chernov concluded that if the transit political agreement through Azerbaijan continues to be effective, and a regular train schedule is established, this transport corridor will not only become an important logistics guarantee for Armenia but also help Russia expand its market in the South Caucasus, forming a "Russia - Azerbaijan - Georgia - Armenia" long-chain logistics network."

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7569919761249845787/

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