Armenia Wants In On Asia-Europe Trade. Russian Rail Control Stands In The Way

(Ulviyya Asadzade – RFE/RL) As Armenia pushes to position itself on trade routes linking Asia and Europe, it faces a major obstacle at home: Its rail network is still controlled by a Russian state company under Western sanctions. Aiming to become part of international transit corridors, Armenia is constrained by the fact that its railways are managed by Russian Railways (RZD), under a 30-year concession signed in 2008. “Due to Russia’s management of the railway, we are losing our strategic position and our competitive advantage,” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in February. He argued that Russian control discourages Turkey and Azerbaijan from using a much larger section of Armenian territory for transit in the near future. Pashinian also suggested that Russia could sell its concession to countries considered friendly by both sides, such as Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, or Qatar. – Armenia Wants In On Asia-Europe Trade. Russian Rail Control Stands In The Way