Terms declared regarding Baku-Tbilisi-Kars

Arif Askerov made a statement.

The matter of connecting Armenia to the railway Baku-Tbilisi-Kars can be considered only after the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

According to Oxu.Az the statement came from the head of "Azerbaijan Railways" JSC Arif Askerov speaking to reporters.

According to A.Askerov, now all interested countries can join the project except Armenia.

Some time ago Kazakhstan and Afghanistan expressed their desire to join the BTK project.

An intergovernmental agreement on the establishment of the railway corridor Baku-Tbilisi-Kars was signed on February 7, 2007 between Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.

The project envisages the construction of the Kars-Akhalkalaki railway extending to 98 km, 68 km of which will be on the territory of Turkey, 30 km on Georgia, as well as the reconstruction of Akhalkalaki-Tbilisi section extending to 183 km in Georgia. Construction of the Georgian part funded by Azerbaijan, who allocated two concessional loans to Georgia totaling AZN 775 m.

Until the end of this year it is planned to launch the first working train on the BTK railroad to the border with Turkey. The project is planned to be completed in the first half of 2015. (News.Az)