Iran and Russia Cooperation in the Construction of Rasht-Astara:

The Only Remaining Railway of the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

The 164 km Rasht-Astara railway route in Iran’s Gilan Province is of great importance in the International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC), because it is the only remaining rail part of this corridor, writes Valdai Club expert Vali Kaleji. In his article, Dr. Vali Kaleji, a Tehran-based expert on Central Asia and Caucasian Studies, postulates that after the First Karabakh War, Iran’s railway connection with the Caucasus was cut and this unfortunate situation has not changed in three decades. Among the proposed bilateral or multilateral rail projects to overcome the rail and transit gap, the 164 km Rasht-Astara railway route in Gilan Province of Iran is of great importance in the...

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