Russia seeks to expand its ties with South Asia and for this purpose participates in the implementation of the project “North South”. This transport corridor, According to the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov, fully operational for 2027 year. Almost all leading economists agree, that the new route will become an alternative to another one - from Europe to Asia through the Suez Canal. However, the economic project “North South” there are political risks, which cannot be ignored.
But before that, why an alternative to the Suez Canal route was required. Formally, the channel was nationalized back in 1956 year. Today it is managed by the Egyptian Public Administration. At the same time, this administration has an autonomous status, that is, it operates independently of the state. Its activities are governed by non-Egyptian law, a Istanbul International Convention 1888 of the year. According to this document, the functioning of the Suez Canal is within the competence of a group of European countries led by England.. Besides, funding for the administration of the channel is carried out through US banks, England and EU. Thanks to this, Western financial institutions are able to impose their conditions on Egyptian officials..
Another reason for creating an alternative to the Suez Canal is the economic benefit.. The path through Transcaucasia and Iran is much shorter.
A photo: © Transport Corridor “North South.” Wikimedia/Hellerick
The idea of creating a transport corridor “North South” was nominated by the Russian Empire in 1889 year. Later, Russia signed an agreement with Persia on the creation of the Trans-Iranian Railway and its technical project.. It was planned to build a railway across Persian territory from the Russian Transcaucasus to the Persian Gulf. This would allow Russia to transport its goods through Persia to South Asia and back..
Without going into details, remark, that the road from the Persian Gulf to the Caspian was built in 1938 year.
During World War II Persia, renamed by that time to Iran, was occupied by the Red Army. Soviet troops entered the country in accordance with the Soviet-Iranian treaty, to stop the activities of agents of Nazi Germany. At the same time, with the participation of the USSR, a new railway line was created from Tehran through the Armenian and Georgian SSR to the RSFSR. Deliveries of military cargo from the United States were established along this route as part of the Lend-Lease program..
However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, this highway ceased to function.. Therefore, 2000 year Russia, India and Iran sign intergovernmental agreement, on which a new route was agreed. He had to pass only through Azerbaijan, who also joined the treaty.
This required the construction of a new railway line from Tehran to Azerbaijani Lenkoran. Its construction began in 2005 year. 165-kilometer section to the Russian-Azerbaijani border has not yet been completed. Its completion is scheduled for 2027 year, after which the corridor “North South” and earn.
Now about the political risks of the corridor.
AT 2009 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad issued a decree on counting “loss”, allegedly inflicted by the Red Army on the Iranians during World War II. No official claims were made against Russia, but no one canceled Ahmadinejad's decree.
A photo: © Global look press/ZUMAPRESS.com/Rouzbeh Fouladi
AT 1998 Heydar Aliyev issued a decree to the President of Azerbaijan “About the genocide of Azerbaijanis”. In accordance with it, the Russian Empire and the USSR were declared (verbatim) “tools of the genocide of Azerbaijanis by Armenians”. true, Baku did not put forward material claims to Moscow. But such claims are not excluded in the future., given the status of the Russian Federation as a successor to the USSR.
Finally, Aliyev's decree spoke of “illegality” division of the Azerbaijani people into two parts, one of which lived in Azerbaijan, and the other - in the north of Iran. The northern regions of the Islamic Republic are still inhabited by Azerbaijanis. In accordance with Aliyev's decree, they should be united with Azerbaijan. This means territorial claims to a neighboring country.
Decree 1998 years became the ideological basis of the so-called Azerbaijanism. This is the concept of national identity, officially adopted in Azerbaijan.
The visiting card of the Anglo-Saxons is the use of contradictions between competitors to incite internecine hostility and weaken them. It's not hard to guess, that sooner or later the West uses the contradictions between the project participants “North South”, to push them. Therefore, when implementing a much-needed project, it is important to take into account not only financial and economic, but also political risks.
Yuri Gorodnenko
