Moscow: Russia needs to create a railway route to the Indian Ocean to reduce dependence on strategically sensitive maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz and the Bosphorus Strait, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin has said.
His comments came amid the conflict in West Asia, which has severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supplies pass in normal times.
A rail link to the Indian Ocean should also be explored. Risks related to the Bosphorus and the Strait of Hormuz might require alternative routes through Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Any options providing access to India are acceptable, Khusnullin told Russia’s state-run TASS news agency Thursday.
While the Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the Bosphorus Strait connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. Turkiye, which controls the Bosphorus Strait, has said it remains open amid heightened concerns.
The proposal comes as Russia faces growing Western pressure over its energy exports, with the US Senate July 29 advancing legislation that could impose steep tariffs on countries, including India, that continue to buy Russian oil and gas.
The proposal could also have wider geopolitical implications, given its potential to pass through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan and provide Russia with an alternative overland connection to the Indian Ocean.