The opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad took place on October 30 in the capital of Azerbaijan. Officially it was announced that this 838-kilometer railway would transport about one million passengers and over 6.5 million luggage annually, becoming a unique corridor between Asia and Europe. It is noted that from Beijing to London the trains will last for about two weeks.

This event, highlighting the importance of the direct involvement of the heads of the three states, has aroused great interest in the neighboring countries, particularly in Russia and Iran. To some extent, the Armenian press, in my opinion, was not enough. Meanwhile, we do not have the right to underestimate this event. Moreover, we have to follow all the responses so that future events can not be surprising. Looking at the last days' references, I separated three of them, which, in my opinion, are quite remarkable and give rise to a serious point of view.

Konstantin Zatulin, the deputy director of the Russian State Duma, director of the CIS Institute, declared without any unnecessary diplomatic tricks that this project is a challenge not only for Armenia but also for the Russian Federation, moreover, this is already the second case (understand Russia bypassing the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. On the other hand, Zatulin noted that it is difficult to counter serious economic projects if you do not have to offer them. According to the speaker, Armenia and Russia should think about it, taking into consideration the factor of the third interested country - Iran. Considering Mr. Zatulin's serious reputation as well as his passionate comment regarding the great prospect of Iran-Armenia-Georgia today's not so lively transport corridor, I think this thought was not accidental at all and meant to have the habit of losing time can not be allowed. Why do I think so? Another Russian political scientist, Alexander Konovalov, director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments, in his interview to the Azerbaijani press, made a very unusual statement. He noted that Russia would closely monitor the operation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, adding that Moscow seeks to balance the South Caucasus and actively engage in economic developments here. In the event that Moscow does not limit itself to some political motives, the railway can also be transported to Russia in the near future. This is so cautious and at the same time very simple and ambiguous.

And the last noteI want to make is. The website nk.org.ua of Ukraine, pointing to this event, specifically underlines that Armenia was excluded from such a large-scale project by which territory it would be much easier to enter Turkey. Then it is emphasized that as a sign of solidarity with Azerbaijan, Turkey keeps its border with Armenia closed for many years and does not intend to open it in the near future. And the most interesting thing was the last sentence of the article that I want to quote: The withdrawal from the Unusack has its limit. I think it's more than a transparent hint.

Gor Armenyan