EU sanctions against Iran would not harm the realization of railway projects, President of the Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin said, RIA Novosti reports.
Foreign ministers of 27 EU states met in Brussels on January 23 and approved the embargo on Iranian oil exports. The new package of sanctions includes a gradual ban on imports of petroleum from Iran. The embargo will come into full force on July 1.
The Russian official noted that construction of the Resht (Iran) – Astara (Azerbaijan) railway line, built with assistance of the Azerbaijani Railways and the Iranian Railways, will continue despite sanctions.
The Resht (Iran) – Astara (Azerbaijan) railway line is significant for development of the North-South corridor. It will provide a freighting of 25-26 million tons by 2015. Most railways of the North-South corridor belong to Russia, which is 33-53% of the total ground length of the line. The need for loading and offloading in India, Iran and Russia drags the project.
Iran offered the Russian Railways to take part in building the Tehran – Bafk line. The Russian Railways and Iranian Railways signed a deal on construction of the Tabriz Azarshahr line (TARE) on March 29, 2008, which will be 48 km long. Realization of the project started in 2009.
