Russia and Iran in May could sign agreement on completing Rasht-Astara railway section

MINERALNYE VODY. May 3 (Interfax) - Russia and Iran in May could sign an agreement on completing construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section in Iran, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on the sidelines of the Caucasus Region Investment Exhibition.

"We have just discussed this with the Iranian Ambassador [Kazem Jalali is Iran's Ambassador to the Russian Federation], and I had a meeting on the signing of a bilateral agreement between our countries on completing the Rasht-Astara railway section. I hope that we will do this in May, since we have agreed on everything in practice, and the coordination procedures are currently underway. That is, this is a very important step; we have been moving toward this for a long time; it is actually to connect the infrastructure of Russia and Iran," Novak said.

The Iranian ambassador earlier on Wednesday said that Tehran expected in the near future to sign an agreement with Russia on completing the Rasht-Astara railway section and to begin construction.

"I must convey to the distinguished participants in today's discussion the good news that an agreement will be signed in the very near future on constructing the Rasht-Astara railway section with the assistance of the Russian Federation, and the project will be transferred to an operational, practical level. I think that within three to four months, maximum until October, the executive part of implementing the project of the North-South ITC will begin," Jalali said at the Caucasus Region Investment Exhibition.

The North-South ITC connects Russia with the countries of the Caspian Sea basin, the Persian Gulf, as well as Central, South and Southeast Asia.