Lragir: Russia tries to block Iranian transit through Armenia

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mohber held talks with Russian Presidential aide Igor Levitin in Tehran.

The need to expand cooperation between Tehran and Moscow for the implementation of the Resht-Astara railway project was mutually stressed. Levitin said Iran could be an alternative and suitable route for transportation and act as a transit hub for Russia.

According to Caliber.Az, this information caused great concern in the Armenian expert community.

Thus, the observer of the Armenian daily Lragir Naira Hayrumyan burst into an article entitled "Russia is trying to block Iranian transit through Armenia: the "ends" of the extraterritorial corridors are ready".

"It should be noted that the Resht-Astara route as part of the North-South corridor (from St. Petersburg via Azerbaijan to Iran and India) was recalled by Putin during his recent visit to Tehran. Iran itself has shown little interest in the route, lobbying for another North-South route, via Armenia and Georgia to the Black Sea coast of Europe.

The route through Armenia could be threatened if the extraterritorial corridors forced by Russia and Türkiye become a reality. The Armenian government has already drafted a bill to open checkpoints on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and has agreed to open the Armenian-Turkish border to third-country nationals. That is, the 'ends' for the extraterritorial corridors are ready, although there are no documents on where Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan and Türkiye run.

One of Russia's objectives in its military campaign against Armenia was to block transit from Iran via Armenia to Europe. It is not just about the transit of goods, but also about energy.

Iran and the US are close to reopening the nuclear deal and lifting sanctions on Iran. Analysts already say that Iranian energy carriers may replace Russian fuel on the European market. This is why Moscow is strenuously promoting the Resht-Astara project and torpedoing transit through Armenia with extraterritorial corridors and terror.

Chinese Ambassador to Armenia Fan Yong recently visited Armenia's Syunik region (Zangazur - Ed.), bordering Iran. It is the first time he visited the region, and he stated that the Embassy is ready to send its country's investors to Syunik. China, which in October 2020 thwarted a UN Security Council resolution to end hostilities in Karabakh, has received preferential treatment from Türkiye for future transport projects.

The deputy prime ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia will meet in Moscow on August 30, followed by a Pashinyan-Aliyev meeting in Brussels on August 31.

A few days earlier Baku had received Lachin as a gift from Russia, and Azerbaijan's prime minister attended an EAEU meeting in Kyrgyzstan, where transport issues were also discussed. At the same time, the US appointed former assistant secretary of state Philip Reeker as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, insisting on the mandate of the Minsk Group," writes Hayrumyan.