By Vestnik Kavkaza
“Due to the current international conditions, the main source of our country’s revenues – oil exports – decreased by 30% because of falling oil prices,” the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani stated yesterday. “We have to face the new conditions and the world economic situation.”
One of the sources of Iranian revenues could be an increase in agricultural exports to Russia, including fruits and vegetables, as Russia needs them due to the sanctions launched by the West. Yesterday it turned out that Rosselkhoznadzor has approved fish imports from more than 20 Iranian enterprises.
The North Caucasus is of special interest for Iran. Along with Azerbaijan, China and Germany, Iran remains the main exporter to the republics of the NCFD. To build transport communications between the North Caucasus and Iran, experts suggested development of Makhachkala's port, the Transcaucasian Highway, and the North Caucasus Railway, constructing 150 km of the Alagir-Tskhinval railway.
Maxim Shevchenko, a member of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the Russian President, told Vestnik Kavkaza that the North-South transport corridor is not sufficient for Iran: “Actually, today there are only ports in North Iran and in Astrakhan. Astrakhan's port doesn’t meet the modern requirements for a port, which could be the main element in the trade turnover between such big states as Russia and Iran.”
As for roads, Shevchenko says that “in Azerbaijan there is a modern highway of European standards which is connected with Iranian roads near Lenokaran, but in Russia it turns into the Smaur-Derbent-Makhachkala road. It is awful! The field road is called “the death path” in Dagestan. It doesn’t meet any requirements of transport communications. I think the transparency of the path is very important for Iran.”
According to Shevchenko, Armenia's accession to the Customs Union could play an important role in building transport communications between the North Caucasus and Iran: “Armenia is the closest ally of Iran; and now the Customs Union has come close to Iran’s borders via Armenia. Now goods from Iran to Russia can come through Armenia. The Georgian Military Road remains the only normal transport corridor that enables Armenian goods, i.e. Iranian goods, to be transported to Russia and its internal market. That’s why Iran provides active public diplomacy in the region. The North Caucasus gains key strategic importance with the accession of Armenia to the Customs Union.”
Shevchenko noted also a political element in Iran’s interest in the North Caucasus: [The head of Chechnya] Ramzan Kadyrov is one of the main factors of stability and security in the North Caucasus; so such political centers as Iran are interested in him.”
