Now Reading: Russia proposes rail link to India via Iran, Pakistan
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Russia proposes rail link to India via Iran, Pakistan
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin has proposed building a railway line to the Indian Ocean that could connect Russia and India via Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In an interview with…
The Story in Brief
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin has proposed building a railway line to the Indian Ocean that could connect Russia and India via Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. In an interview with state news agency TASS on Thursday, Khusnullin said the route would reduce Russia's dependence on strategically sensitive sea lanes like the Hormuz Strait and the Bosphorus, which have been affected by conflict in West Asia. He said any option giving access to India is acceptable.
The proposal comes as Russia faces Western pressure over its energy exports. The US Senate on July 29 advanced a bill that could impose heavy tariffs on countries including India that continue buying Russian oil and gas. The proposed railway could also have broader geopolitical implications by giving Russia an alternative land route to the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Opinion
The usual hype around a "Russia-India rail corridor" ignores one inconvenient fact: the proposed route runs through Afghanistan and Pakistan, two countries with which India has no rail connectivity or trust. Talk of bypassing the Hormuz Strait sounds clever, but a train crossing Taliban-run territory and a hostile Pakistan is a fantasy dressed as geopolitics. The real test is whether Moscow will put money behind feasibility surveys, not just statements to TASS.
Source: aajtak.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
