Following Hormuz, Black Sea Also Unstable... Russian Deputy PM Stresses Need for Railway Connecting to Indian Ocean

A high-ranking Russian official has raised the need to build a railway connecting to the Indian Ocean, citing risks to maritime trade routes, according to Russia's TASS news agency.

In an interview with TASS on the 6th local time, Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Construction and Regional Development Marat Khusnullin stated, "Given the risks in the Bosphorus and Hormuz straits, an alternative route passing through Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan may be necessary."

Deputy Prime Minister Khusnullin said, "We must think about railway access to the Indian Ocean," adding, "Any option that provides access to India would be good."

Khusnullin's mention of the Bosphorus Strait, in addition to the Strait of Hormuz—where shipping volumes have significantly shrunk over the past few months due to the conflict between the United States and Iran—is seen as a fallout from the recently intensifying war in Ukraine.

This is because recurring attacks by Russia and Ukraine on merchant vessels and ports in the Black Sea have threatened the shipping route leading from the Black Sea through the Bosphorus Strait to the Mediterranean Sea.

(Photo: Getty Images)
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