Russia and Iran are building a new transcontinental trade route. Its length will be 3 thousand km, and the cost of construction, according to estimates, will reach up to 25 billion dollars.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
It is noted that the purpose of the route is to circumvent the sanctions imposed on the countries and establish new ties with the rapidly growing economies of Asia.
“Both countries are spending billions of dollars to speed up the delivery of goods through rivers and railways connected by the Caspian Sea. Tracking data shows that dozens of Russian and Iranian vessels, including some under sanctions, are already plying this route,” the report said.
Photo: Bloomberg
At the same time, it is emphasized: the new route, 3,000 kilometers long, stretched from the eastern edge of Europe to the Indian Ocean. At the same time, its northern end rests on the Sea of Azov, which borders the temporarily occupied Crimea, Mariupol, and the southeastern coast of Ukraine.
The corridor is expected to allow Russia and Iran to shorten routes by thousands of kilometers. Furthermore, it is not open to any foreign interference.
Photo: Bloomberg
“Russia and Iran will explore all loopholes for the transportation of prohibited goods and weapons,” commented Maria Shagin, an expert on the construction of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. According to her estimates, the countries intend to invest 25 billion dollars in construction.
At the same time, analysts note, the creation of the corridor causes concern in the US and its allies. After all, now they are trying to block the supply to the Russian Federation of Iranian drones and other military goods that help the Kremlin in the war against Ukraine.
The purpose of the route is to circumvent the sanctions imposed against Russia and Iran
In general, it is stated that the construction testifies to the aspirations of Russia:
to compensate for the sudden break in commercial ties with Europe, which was its largest trading partner before the war;
find workarounds for US and EU sanctions.
