MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed confidence that progress would soon be achieved in implementing the North-South international transport corridor project.

"The situation regarding our trilateral project (North-South - TASS) is cause for optimism as our Iranian colleagues recently informed us that they have completed land acquisition for the Rasht-Astara section, the absence of which prevented the commencement of relevant works. The heads of three railway companies, from Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran, also met earlier this month. They discussed practical matters, specifically, how to begin actual work now that the land has been allocated. So, I think we will see progress. There is interest from all three sides," he told a press conference following talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.

The agreement to establish the North-South International Transport Corridor was signed by Russia, India, and Iran in 2000. The number of participating countries later expanded to 14. The project aims to facilitate the flow of goods from India, Iran, and the Persian Gulf states to Europe via Russian territory. Compared to the maritime route through the Suez Canal, the distance is more than halved, thereby reducing both transit times and transportation costs. Currently, the project integrates various transport systems from individual nations.