MOSCOW, May 19. /TASS/. China, India and Southeast Asian countries demonstrate interest in using the Northern Sea Route (NSR) while unfriendly countries review plans to use that export corridor, Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Alexey Chekunov told the Russian government on Wednesday.
"As for the export, we comply with the plan. We expect the transit objectives will be changed for 2023-2024," the minister said. "While several unfriendly countries are trying to review the earlier announced plans to use NSR transit, we can see a growing interest in using NSR from China, India, countries in Southeast Asia."
Transportation via NSR within Russia is of demand, the minister stressed. He noted that three coastal voyages had been planned for the current year; the number of ports of call had grown from 4 to 11, and the route had been extended to Vladivostok.
The Northern Sea Route is the shortest water route between the European part of Russia and the Far East. The route from the Kara Gate to Providence Bay is about 5,600 km long. Noteworthy, the route is completely within the Russian territorial waters and its exclusive economic zone, which is especially important due to the sanctions pressure, where logistics supply chains have been disrupted.