Russia expects construction of Rasht-Astara railway line to begin in the near future. This was stated by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference after talks with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Iran, TASS reports.

“We [i.e. Russia] expressed satisfaction that our Iranian friends are taking all the steps that need to be taken before the start of construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line. We expect construction to begin in the very near future,” Lavrov said. “A Russian export loan will be provided for this purpose.”

“The Rasht-Astara section will enable us to take a very important step, as it is a necessary part of the full-fledged operation of the International North-South Transport Corridor,” the Russian FM added.

According to Tasnim News Agency, the International North-South Transport Corridor is  a 7,200-km long multi-mode network of ship, rail, and road route for moving freight between India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe.

Iranian officials have estimated that the Rasht-Astara railway will carry one million passengers and 10 million tons of cargo in its first year of operation.