The North-South transport corridor, which will link Russia and India, will be beyond the reach of Western countries’ sanctions. This was reported by The New York Times (NYT).
For centuries, trade with Europe has been the “backbone” of the Russian economy, the NYT publication said. In response to Western sanctions that have restricted Russia’s access to European markets, Moscow is expanding its ties with other countries such as China, India and the Gulf states.
A key component of Russia’s plans, according to the newspaper, is the “southern route”, part of which will be a 160-kilometre-long, $1.7 billion railway that will link the Iranian cities of Astara and Resht, as well as northern Iran and Azerbaijan, to the Russian network.
“It would be the last link in a rail link between Russia and Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf, providing easy access to centres such as India’s commercial capital of Mumbai,” the NYT pointed out.
It is noted that the route is important for increasing exports of Russian goods, it will also serve as a complement to existing trade routes from Russia to China.
“It will be a continuous railway line of nearly seven thousand kilometres. And it will be beyond the reach of Western sanctions. Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf coast will provide Russian merchants with convenient access to India, as well as access to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and so on,” the newspaper summarises.
Earlier, German newspaper Die Welt recognised that the Russian economy was booming despite years of sanctions.
