Russia is interested in Armenia as a transit corridor
to the Middle East and South Asia, Director of the Center for Integration
Studies at the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) Yevgeny Vinokurov said on
Wednesday during a Moscow-Yerevan video conference on the economic advantages
of the Eurasian project for Armenia.
"All the members of the Customs Union are
interested in the building of the North-South transport corridor and the
reopening of the Abkhazian railway. This project will be financed by the
EDB-controlled EurasEC Anti-Crisis Fund," Vinokurov said.
He said that one of the issues of the joint agenda may
also be the Georgian problem. "According to surveys, 59% of the Georgians
are interested in normal relations with Russia and are well disposed towards
the Customs Union. This is a good chance for Armenia and all the member
states," Vinokurov said.
Deputy Director of the Noravank Scientific Education
Foundation Sevak Sarukhanyan stressed the importance of railway projects in the
territory of Armenia. "Armenia may become the Customs Union's gates into
the Middle East and South Asia," he said.
The expert believes that the reopening of the
Abkhazian railway will foster integration in the South Caucasus. "All the
transport and energy corridors built in the region so far run from east to west
rather from north to south," Sarukhanyan said.
He welcomes Armenia's wish to join the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization as China may also be interested in the Iran-Armenia
railway project.
The 556 km long North-South transport corridor will
give access to the Black Sea and Europe through the territory of Armenia
(Meghri-Kapan- Goris-Yerevan-Ashtarak-Gyumri-Bavra) and Georgia.
While visiting Yerevan in Jan 2013, Georgian Prime
Minister Birdzina Ivanishvili mentioned the possibility of restarting the
Abkhazian railway stopped as a result of the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict in
1992- 1993.