BAKU, January 29. /TASS/. The US opposed the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting with cabinet members, according to a statement from presidential office.
"We faced a lot of resistance when we wanted to implement it. I can talk about it now. The United States of America was especially opposed to it. And the reason was again their pro-Armenian policy because it was believed that this project leaves Armenia on the sidelines," he said.
According to the president, Washington began to pressure the Georgian authorities so that Tbilisi would refuse to participate in the project.
"We have been negotiating with the Georgian side for several years and finally were able to come to an agreement. That including me personally. I repeatedly discussed this issue with high-ranking representatives of the American state and told them that they should not put hurdles in our way. This is a strategic project for us, which would be used in the future by other countries, including their allies. Life has shown that, as always, we were right. Today, America's partners in Europe show great interest in the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad. In general, they show great interest in transportation of goods from Central Asia to Europe and in the opposite direction through the territory of Azerbaijan. If the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad had not been built, all this would have been completely impossible," he said.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway started operation on October 30, 2017. It connected the rail networks of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey into a single transportation corridor. The total length of the road is 826 kilometers. The construction of the Georgian stretch was financed by Azerbaijan, which allocated two discounted-rate loans totaling $775 million to Georgia. In May 2023, the railway was closed for modernization. Freight traffic along the route resumed on May 24, 2024.