Maria Zakharova: Russia interested in continued cooperation with Azerbaijan on "North-South"

Russia is interested in the full implementation of the INSTC project in cooperation with Azerbaijan and Iran, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told Vestnik Kavkaza.

She first noted that the proposal by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to use the Derbent-Baku-Meghri-Nakhchivan-Tabriz railway route as an additional branch of the "North-South" corridor aligns with the logic of opening transportation links in the South Caucasus.

"One way or another, we are talking about unblocking transportation links in the South Caucasus. The route you mentioned specifically involves the territory of Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and, of course, Russia," Zakharova said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson reminded that Moscow and Baku updated their bilateral documents on developing the "North-South" corridor just six months ago.

"On December 21, 2024, the transport ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation for the development of freight transport along the INSTC," she said.

Zakharova emphasized that Moscow is focused on launching the western branch of the "North-South" corridor via Azerbaijan as soon as possible.

"Russia is interested in continuing cooperation with Azerbaijan and Iran on developing the western route: from Russia's Derbent to Azerbaijan's Astara and onward to Iran's Rasht," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson concluded.