Persian Express: Moscow and Tehran Promote Railway Connectivity from the Baltic to the Gulf
Maxim Shevchenko: The closer Russia's relations with Iran, the weaker the "fifth column" in the country and the influence of pro-Israeli and pro-American forces becomes
Teheran has allocated a 34-kilometer stretch of land within its territory for the construction of the Resht-Astara railway line.
Astara is a port area on the Caspian Sea, consisting of two border cities with the same name — one located in Azerbaijan, and the other in Iran.
The 160-kilometer railway section between Astara and the city of Resht will be jointly built by Moscow and Teheran through joint financing, as agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries in 2023, with a total project cost of 1.6 billion euros.
The city of Astara in Azerbaijan will be connected to the city of Astara in Iran, and also to the border port of Derbent in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. The Azerbaijani government is advancing the construction of this railway segment with its partners, while Russia will participate in the connection work on its domestic section.
All of these projects are part of the global multimodal transport project "North-South Corridor." This project spans 7,200 kilometers, starting from St. Petersburg, Russia, and ending at Mumbai Port in India. The railway section from Derbent, Russia, to Abbas Port on the Persian Gulf coast in Iran is approximately 2,300 kilometers long. Notably, most of this railway route has already been built, and only modernization is required now.
At the same time, some experts believe that building a railway around the Caspian Sea is not beneficial for Russia and recommend developing a maritime transport route across the Caspian Sea, making better use of Russia's three major ports on the Caspian Sea — Makhachkala Port, Astrakhan Port, and Olya Port in the Liman district of Astrakhan Oblast.
Which of these views is correct? "Svoboda" (Freedom) interviewed social activist, political scientist, and Orientalist Maxim Shevchenko on this issue.
Shevchenko: The railway passing through Azerbaijan already existed during the Russian Empire (when Baku was under the Russian Empire), and it has undergone multiple modernizations. Now, this railway extends to the Caspian Sea coast, and Iran will build large docks there. According to the plan, ships coming from the "north" (Russia) should dock here, and Makhachkala Port is the most suitable choice — Astrakhan Port is less convenient due to the silt carried by the Volga River, which requires frequent dredging of the channel.
After goods arrive at the Iranian port, they can continue to the Persian Gulf via land. Russia is currently promoting the construction of this route, which does not conflict with the development of Russian ports but rather complements it.
Additionally, another railway route could be established between Russia and Iran: along the Black Sea coast through the Abkhazian railway, then crossing Georgia to reach Armenia. These two routes do not interfere with each other.
Establishing railway connectivity between Russia and Iran is a great news for anyone with common sense, and it is worth celebrating.
This development also confirms the continuous improvement of Russia-Iran relations.
"Svoboda" (SP): What is the purpose of Russia and Iran drawing closer?
Shevchenko: The closer Russia's relations with Iran, the more it distances itself from the West — from the United States and other "bad guys" who are hostile to Russia.
The stronger the Russia-Iran relationship, the weaker the "fifth column" forces in Russia become, and the influence of pro-Israeli and pro-American movements also diminishes. In my view, deepening cooperation with Iran is an important link in the global struggle between justice and evil — both Russia and Iran stand on the side of justice.
"Svoboda": The railway line from Derbent to Astara is about 550 kilometers long, entirely within Azerbaijan, and thus fully dependent on Baku. Currently, Russian-Azerbaijani relations are becoming tense, and Azerbaijan has become a "satellite state" of Turkey, and there are some differences between Russia and Turkey.
If we invest money in building the Astara-Resht railway, but the Azerbaijani government refuses to allow us to use its sections, how can we prevent this risk?
Shevchenko: First, Russia and Turkey have good relations, and Putin has a very close personal relationship with Erdogan. Even if they are not allies, they are at least partners. Turkish foreign ministers regularly visit Moscow, just like going home naturally.
In areas such as oil and gas transportation, Turkey is an important partner of Russia. Therefore, those who portray Turkey as an "enemy" are essentially anti-Russian forces.
Whether in the Caucasus region or the Black Sea basin, our cooperation with Turkey is smooth. Turkey has provided critical support to Russia in breaking the Western-imposed economic sanctions. It can be said that without Ankara's support, the consequences of the sanctions would have been thousands of times worse than they are now.
As for the Russia-Iran cooperation, Turkey is not concerned. In today's world, purely "either/or" national relationships no longer exist; what really matters is the capital invested in various projects.
Turkey cannot directly invest in Russia-Iran projects, as we are all sanctioned countries, but there are still other feasible ways, such as through Qatar as a third party.
Moreover, the so-called Russia-Azerbaijan conflict is largely fictional, more the result of media hype.
Although the relationship between Russia and Azerbaijan is complex, the depth of cooperation is considerable. Indeed, individual incidents are regrettable, such as the attack on Russians in Baku... However, the two sides are currently discussing an important collaboration: using Azerbaijan's gas pipeline to build a transit gas pipeline from Russia through Azerbaijan to Iran.
In this project, our investment is relatively limited, but the amount of gas planned to be transported is quite significant — up to 2 billion cubic meters per year.
All of these collaborations are possible because, in the field of geo-economics, the main actors are not the extreme politicians who have lost real influence, but international conglomerates — even countries that are politically opposed may jointly participate in these conglomerates.
The actions of economic groups often "simplify" the attributes of national brands. For example, when we say "Russia makes statements on the gas issue," actually, behind this "Russia," there may be Russian Gas Industry (Gazprom), Qatar, Rosneft, and a Turkish energy company...
Therefore, regarding political differences with economic partners, we should maintain a more calm attitude.
"Svoboda": But concerns remain difficult to eliminate. What if Iran's radical fundamentalists come to power, or if Erdogan is overthrown by pro-Western forces (there have been similar attempts before)? How should we respond?
Shevchenko: To firmly establish a position in the Caspian region, the key is to sign specific multilateral contracts and include all stakeholders involved.
For the Caspian coastal countries, there is a common interest: preventing external forces from intervening in the region. There are five sovereign states in the Caspian region, and maintaining the sovereignty of this region benefits all of them, and Russia and Iran are the main drivers of this process.
Political risks always exist, but the responsibility of national leaders lies in recognizing their own interests and preventing potential threats.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7556133340584116755/
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