Iran.ru said this new route may replace in future the one that passes through the territory of Turkey. "Two cargo containers arrived in Iran via Armenian border", - said Amiri. "The containers were shipped from Hamburg via a relatively short route," - the official said.
"In the last couple of years, we had problems at the Turkish border when it came to transportation of goods from Europe. This prompted us to start negotiations with several other countries for alternative routes," - Golyamhossein Amiri said.
Tehran and Ankara have long been involved in a transit dispute arising from different fuel prices in the two neighboring countries. In addition, transit trucks have to wait for long hours to cross from Turkey into Iran. The queue at the border often reaches 15 kilometers. The agreements signed by customs officials of the neighboring countries are unable to solve this problem.
Safety of transit goods is another issue impeding the transportation of goods through Turkey. In Turkey several Iranian trucks were victims of arson, which Ankara blames on armed units belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
The Iranian government advised truck drivers to use two alternative routes: one through Azerbaijan, Russia and Belarus, and the other through Armenia, Georgia, the Black Sea, then through Romania or Bulgaria. "The cost of transportation through the [new] route appeared to be lower by 1-2% [compared with the Turkish route]," - Amiri said. -- 0--
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