Türkiye builds new railway to bypass Russia on Eurasian market
Türkiye is building a new railway that will push Russia out of the Eurasian market (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Türkiye has begun construction of a 224-kilometer railway that will integrate it into an alternative land route between China and Europe bypassing Russia, the press service of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reported.
The new railway line will become part of the Zangezur Corridor (a planned railway and highway line that is to connect Azerbaijan with its exclave Nakhchivan through the south of Armenia).
The cost of the new railway project is estimated at 2.8 billion dollars, and its completion is planned by 2029. The line will be able to transport up to 15 million tons of cargo and about 5.5 million passengers annually. Within the framework of construction, five tunnels with a total length of 20 km, three viaducts, and dozens of bridges will be built.
This main line will directly connect Türkiye with Nakhchivan through Azerbaijan, strengthening Ankara's transport importance.
The project will create up to 15,000 jobs, and the economy of Eastern Anatolia may grow by 5–7%. In addition, the new line will reduce the delivery time of goods from Asia to Europe by 10–15 days.
"Most importantly, it pushes cargo flows away from Russian and Iranian routes, undermining Moscow's positions in the Eurasian transport market," the intelligence service explained.
Threat from Russia to Türkiye
Eearlier, Ukraine's Ambassador to Türkiye Nariman Dzhelyal said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine that if Ukraine loses the war with Russia, Türkiye could become Moscow's next target.
Dzhelyal reminded that Russia had previously sought to control the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
