Pashinyan: Railway shipments from Russia to Armenia of various product groups via Azerbaijan being discussed

YEREVAN. Nov 6 (Interfax) - The possibilities for supplying various types of goods from Russia to Armenia via Azerbaijani and Georgian territory by railway are being considered, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.

"The situation is developing dynamically. Initially, it was planned that the first train with grain would arrive in Armenia from Kazakhstan, but after that, it became clear that Azerbaijan also provided such an opportunity from Russia," Pashinyan said at a briefing on Thursday.

"Requests for exports of certain product groups from Russia to Armenia along the same route are now being generated," he said.

Armenia is ready right now to provide the opportunity for goods to move across its territory from Turkey to Azerbaijan and back, he said.

Unblocking regional communications contributes to the development and deepening of relations between Russia and Armenia, he said.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday that Russia has supplied the first batch of grain to Armenia via a new railway route through Azerbaijan. Transportation along this route had not been carried out for more than 30 years. One thousand tonnes of grade 3 wheat were exported.

Armenia imports around 450,000-500,000 tonnes of grain per year. Almost all of it comes from Russia. Previously, exports were carried out mainly by road via the land border crossing, as well as by sea through the ports of Georgia. The new route through the Azerbaijani and Georgian territory reduces transport costs and increases the resilience of supplies, the Agriculture Ministry said.