Ovchersky on Armenia-Azerbaijan Railway Opening Documents

Documents regarding the unblocking of railway communication between Armenia and Azerbaijan are at the highest level of preparation. This was stated by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Ovchersky in response to a question from Sputnik Armenia, while participating in the intergovernmental commission meeting on economic cooperation between Russia and Armenia in Yerevan.

According to him, the unblocking of transport communications in the South Caucasus is being carried out in accordance with the trilateral statement by the leaders of Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. For this purpose, a working group has been established co-chaired by the Deputy Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan.

“This working group has collected and developed documents that we believe are currently at a high level of readiness. First of all, this concerns the unblocking of railway communication. We are ready to continue this work. Russia plays more of a mediator role here. If the parties are ready to continue this work, we are, of course, ready to participate,” said Ovchersky.

As a positive development, Ovchersky pointed out that the parties have begun working directly, which is the most important outcome. When asked how much the unblocking of transport communications would cost, Ovchersky said that there are different estimates in this regard; final figures will emerge after the technical specifications and feasibility study of the project are ready.

It should be noted that on June 2, the 12th meeting of the trilateral working group co-chaired by Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Ovchersky, and Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev took place in Moscow. Following the meeting, the Armenian government announced that significant progress had been made in coordinating the methods for unblocking transport communications between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. In particular, a common understanding has been reached on implementing specific steps to restore and organize railway communication along the Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz route.