Representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan on Thursday jointly inspected the condition of infrastructure along the Yeraskh–Sadarak railway section to assess its technical viability and the possibility of comprehensive restoration works, Armenia’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure said.
The government did not specify who took part in the inspection, stating only that the sides exchanged views on assessing the technical condition of the railway infrastructure in the area. The Yeraskh–Sadarak line links Armenia to Azerbaijan’s Nakhichevan exclave and has long been seen as a key element in reopening regional transport routes.
The inspection comes as Armenia presses Russia to move forward with restoring other critical sections of the country’s rail network operated under a Russian concession.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday reiterated Armenia’s expectation that Moscow promptly respond regarding restoration works on rail sections currently managed by Russian Railways. “We are waiting for the reaction of our Russian partners,” Pashinyan told reporters after a cabinet meeting, adding that processes were underway and that further updates would be provided soon.
Pashinyan said the issue had been discussed during his December 22 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, where the two leaders reviewed practical steps to rebuild infrastructure linked to the unblocking of regional transport routes.
On January 14, one day after Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, Armenia and the United States released a joint Armenia has identified several priority rail sections for rapid restoration, including the Akhurik stretch from the Armenia–Turkey border to the operational network, the line from the Armenia–Nakhichevan border to Yeraskh, and the Tavush section up to and including the Ijevan railway station.
“The appropriate moment for action is now,” Pashinyan said, pointing to the January 14 joint Armenia–U.S. statement that unveiled an implementation framework for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), a U.S.-backed initiative aimed at enhancing regional connectivity.
Earlier, Pashinyan warned that Armenia could reclaim control over parts of its rail network if promised investments are not delivered. On December 25, he said the government was prepared to restore critical railway sections using state funds should the Russian side fail to act within a reasonable timeframe.
Under a 2008 agreement with Russia’s state-owned Russian Railways , Armenia handed its railway network to a Russian subsidiary for trust management for 30 years, with an option to extend the concession by another decade. While ownership of the assets remains with the Armenian state, the operator is obliged to invest in modernization, renew rolling stock and improve safety.
Armenia’s rail network has long been constrained by closed borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan, leaving Georgia as its only rail outlet to external markets. Officials have increasingly framed rail rehabilitation as central to reopening regional links and positioning Armenia as a transit hub amid shifting geopolitical and economic alignments.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has stressed that broader transport reopening will not be effective unless sections such as Yeraskh–Sadarak are first unblocked.
