Restoration of transportation links to bring long-term economic benefit to South Caucasus - Belarusian ambassador

By Trend

The restoration of transportation routes will bring long-term economic benefit to the entire South Caucasus, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus to Azerbaijan Andrei Ravkov told Trend .

"I think that the agreements reached by the presidents of Azerbaijan, Russia, and the prime minister of Armenia on the restoration of economic and transportation routes in the region fully meet Azerbaijan’s interests," Ravkov added.

The ambassador said that first of all, this is the restoration of the strategically important land transportation routes with Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which will also open up direct access to Turkey.

Ravkov said that moreover, the implementation of these agreements can bring long-term economic benefit to the entire South Caucasus.

"Of course, the use of the new transport and logistics area through the creation of a network of new railways and highways, the construction of airports will have a beneficial effect on communications among Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Russia, and Turkey," the ambassador noted.

"As we can see, the work in this sphere under the auspices of the trilateral working group at the level of deputy prime ministers is already underway and we believe that the set tasks will be successfully fulfilled," Ravkov added.

Ambassador went on to say that if the trade, economic, and transportation ties in the region are restored, the interested structures of Belarus will consider the possibility and feasibility of joining these and other projects in the future.

Ravkov added that the Republic of Belarus has consistently supported and supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of the generally recognized principles of international law.

The signing of a statement on November 10, 2020, by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia contributed to the cessation of hostilities, which saved the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians, the ambassador added.

"As you remember, during a briefing held in Baku after the meeting of the presidents of Belarus and Azerbaijan - Alexander Lukashenko and Ilham Aliyev on April 14, 2021, President Lukashenko appreciated the trilateral agreements reached following the armed confrontation," Ravkov said.

The ambassador stressed that Belarus and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and good friends for a long time, there are no problematic issues in the relations between the countries.

"Our countries render possible assistance to each other in difficult periods," the ambassador added. "We have had good results of cooperation, including those in the field of defense, namely, there were supplies, repair, maintenance of equipment, as well as training of personnel to work on new models."

"But now I would like to focus on the forthcoming peaceful work to restore life in the liberated territories because this is the most important thing at the moment rather than on assistance during the conflict," Ravkov said.

The ambassador said that during a meeting with President Lukashenko in Baku, President Aliyev expressed interest in the Belarusian experience of organizing life in rural settlements and invited companies to take part in this work.

Ravkov said that an agreement on the participation of the Belarusian companies in the design of cities and villages, rendering of 3d modeling services, and the involvement of our specialists in the restoration of transport infrastructure in Azerbaijan was also reached.

"I am convinced that these and other important agreements, which experts from both sides are currently working on, will be implemented and serve as another example of strategic cooperation between our countries," the ambassador said.