Turkish Daily News

Turkish stretch of a strategic railway project excluding Armenia inaugurated in Kars at a time when Ankara signals positive moves to normalize ties with Yerevan. ‘The project is open to all countries in the region,’ says Gül.

Turkey joined with two other regional leaders in a show of power yesterday in inaugurating the 76-kilometer Turkish section of a strategic railway that bypasses Armenia, which has long opposed the project.

The presidents of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan launched the railway project, which is considered a potential source of isolation and an economic setback for Armenians, in the eastern Anatolian province of Kars. The inauguration of the long awaited project comes at a time when Ankara has gestured positively towards mending fences with Yerevan through secret diplomatic negotiations, raising questions about the viability of a rapprochement.

“The project is open to all countries in the region who want to contribute to good, neighborly relations, peace and prosperity,” President Abdullah Gül said in Kars, a Turkish city near the Armenian border.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad excludes Armenia, which has long opposed the project. Yerevan has argued that there is already a railway running from Kars to the northern Armenian city of Gyumri and that the Kars-Gyumri link, which has stood idle for over a decade, could be used to build a trans-Caucasus railroad.

But Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia have pressed ahead with plans to realize the long-awaited project, a move that is expected to cast a shadow on Turkey’s recent opening toward Armenia.

“The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad project will revive the historic Silk Road,” Gül said during yesterday’s ceremony, also attended by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia, Ilham Aliyev and Mikhail Saakashvili.   He said the railroad, also known as the Iron Silk Road, would not only link Turkey’s rail network with that of Georgia and energy-rich Azerbaijan but also connect Central Asia and China to Europe.   The Georgian section of the 180-kilometer project was completed in 2007. With an estimated cost of $450 million, the project is expected to be complete in 2010. The railroad will carry one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of freight annually, while the number of passengers it will carry will reach three million in 2034, private NTV television reported.   Parallel to the Marmaray Project to link the European and Asian halves of Istanbul by an undersea rail tunnel across the Bosporus, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project will pave the way for transfer of freight from Europe to China, so that the freight transfer between Europe and Central Asia will shift to the railways.  

Railroad creates economic zone, says Gül   Gül said the project was revived in 2004 and after negotiations between the three countries and strong political will it is becoming a reality. He noted that Kazakhstan and China have extended strong support for the project.   The relevant ministries of Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan will be in charge of following up on the project and will write periodical reports to the presidents, informing them of all phases of the railroad work.   “The project somehow created a new economic zone that has not been named,” said Gül.   European Union candidate Turkey sees such infrastructure projects as boosting its role as a bridge for trade and energy between the East and the West.

Source: www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=110763