NOURNEWS - Russia's direct conflict with NATO proxies in Ukraine has led Russia to come to the conclusion that it should think of measures to solve its sanctions problems.
Among these measures was the creation of a "bypass" route for road transport to connect China with Europe through Russia.
This has caused the issue of old communication routes that were being forgotten under the influence of transportation technology on one hand and alternative routes on the other hand to be in the spotlight once again.
The revival of transportation routes is of course accompanied by investments that will firstly stabilize these routes for the coming years, and secondly, if the transportation costs are reduced compared to the previous methods, it will be replaced by the main route.
Therefore, the adoption of new strategic approaches by Russia for the development of regional cooperation in West Asia as well as South and Southeast Asia has led to the formation of significant and decisive changes in the region.
Paying attention to the preparations made for the formation of new communication routes has greatly strengthened the possibility that this issue will be placed as one of the important agendas in the upcoming meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are China-Russia-India-Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and with the provision of legal grounds for the permanent membership of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this organization, the scope for its expansion to West Asia has also been provided.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a country with a special geopolitical position, which is potentially the communication highway between North-South and East-West of the world, will have a special place in the recent developments.
Although previously the high cost of building a railway in mountainous areas and its logistical obstacles justified the delay in building such a route, the fact is that the lack of political will was the main cause of this delay, which now stands out as an undeniable necessity.
The connection of the Uzbekistan railway to the international port of Turkmenbashi in Turkmenistan on the shores of the Caspian Sea and its connection with the port of Baku in Azerbaijan can put the Caucasus, Turkey and the Black Sea in the path of this political will.
If this route is connected to the warm waters of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman and the open waters of the world through the north-south corridor, it will create a unique route that will change many economic, political and even security equations.
The agreement of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to create an international transport corridor at the second meeting of the Coordination Council of the participating countries in Avaza with the signing of the additional protocol and the final agreement under the name of Ashgabat Agreement can be considered as the forerunner of such a strategy.
In addition to this, the signing of bilateral, trilateral and six-party agreements with other countries is considered an important step to actualize Iran’s geopolitical capacities.
Today's world has correctly realized that any actual incident can represent "potential and similar incidents in the future" and therefore, views that were only focused on temporary economic benefits are being replaced by long-term strategic views that are able to provide the interests of countries with regard to scientific future research in similar conditions.
This is the logic that has convinced Russia to put new changes on its agenda and come with a strategy of effective cooperation with its neighbors.
Serious developments in taking advantage of geopolitical advantages in the region are now influenced by many factors other than the geographical map, and the characteristics and roles of different countries are re-identified according to these factors.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that Kazakhstan, despite the cost-effectiveness of energy transfer from the previous route, is considering the options of oil transfer through Iran and Turkey and has put it under review, or China hopes to save the Kashgar railway from chaos and despite its reservations, is willing to recognize such an upgrade for Xinjiang province, all of which indicate strategic changes in the countries' traditional view of geopolitical capacities.
It seems that such a change of views in the region can form more cooperation, and it is obvious that the final result will be the world getting rid of Western unilateralism towards the formalization of multilateralism and considering and respecting the interests of other actors, as a balance in international relations.
BY: Pooya Mirzaei
NOURNEWS