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Azerbaijan’s deputy minister: Lifting sanctions from Iran will improve situation in region

The North-South international transport corridor will allow cutting by half the time of cargo delivery
Old bazaar, in Tehran, Iran AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
Old bazaar, in Tehran, Iran
© AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

BAKU, October 26. /TASS/. Lifting sanctions from Iran will have a positive influence on the region and create new economic opportunities, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Economy and Industry Minister Sevinj Hasanova said on Monday.

The improvement of the situation with Iran "will positively affect the region as a whole," Hasanova said. "New economic opportunities may appear for the countries in the region," she added.

"Resuming supplies via North-South route is especially important," the deputy minister said. "We are holding talks with Iran on constructing a missing link [of this route]," she noted.

TASS reported earlier that the international transport corridor North-South will allow to cut by half the time of cargo delivery. However, it also requires new logistical centers and terminals.

The idea of the North-South international transport corridor was put forward in 1993. In 2000 a relevant agreement was signed between Russia, India and Iran, through which the transit route will run. The time of cargo delivery, in particular from India to Russia, will decrease by two times in comparison with existing routes and will not exceed 30 days. The cost of delivering cargoes will also fall by 30%

Agreement on Iran’s nuclear program

On 14 July 2015, the P5+1 group of international mediators (five permanent members of UN Security Council - US, UK, Russia, China, France - and Germany) and Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Tehran’s nuclear program. Iran will not produce weapons-grade plutonium and limit its stockpile of uranium enriched to 3.67% to 300 kilograms for the next 15 years. Tehran also agreed to modernize its nuclear facilities and use them for exclusively peaceful purposes.

Sanctions will be gradually removed from Iran. The arms embargo imposed by UN Security Council will be kept in place for five years, ban for supplying ballistic missile technologies to Iran - for eight years. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will monitor nuclear facilities in Iran for the next 25 years. If any points of the agreement are violated by Iran, sanctions against the country will be renewed.

On July 20, the corresponding resolution on Iran’s nuclear program agreement was adopted by UN Security Council.