Russia’s Putin to declare commitment to Iranian rail project
Russian President Vladimir Putin will declare his country’s commitment to fund a key railway project in Iran that will allow rail freight transport between the Persian Gulf and Helsinki in Finland via Russia's Saint Petersburg, according to a senior Iranian official.
Mohammad Jamshidi, who serves as top political aide to Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi, said on Wednesday that Iran and Russia will ink an agreement, may be in the coming days, to start construction of the Rasht-Astara railway in northern Iran.
Jamshidi said in a tweet in Farsi that Raeisi and Putin will deliver a speech to mark the start of construction works for the 162-kilometer railway, a project which is expected to be completed within the next three years using Russian funding.
“The agreement to construct the Rasht-Astara railway will be signed with presidents of Iran and Russia delivering speeches,” he said, adding that the railway will link south Asia to north Europe trough the so-called International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC).
The statement came as a high-ranking Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was expected to arrive in Iran late on Tuesday for a two day visit to the country.
Iranian authorities had indicated in various statements that Novak’s trip to Tehran could be the opportunity to sign a final contract on the Rasht-Astara railway project.
Iran’s ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told the official IRNA news agency that Iranian and Russian transportation ministers will hold two days of talks in Tehran on Tuesday and Wednesday to finalize the project.
Iran’s transport minister Mehrdad Bazrpash had also said on May 9 that the contract will be signed within a week from that date.
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