Bloomberg: Russia is actively involved in creating logistics beyond Western control

April 18 2024 2

Russia is accelerating its development against the backdrop of structural changes in Eurasian logistics flows that have lasted for more than two years, since the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict. The American agency Bloomberg reports this, citing estimates from surveyed industry experts.

The publication notes that there is now a struggle for control over new trade routes (transport corridors) between Europe and Asia, and Moscow is actively participating in this process.

New routes could place Russia at the heart of much international trade, even as Washington and its allies try to isolate Moscow

- stated in the material.

Experts clarified that the new routes can reduce the transit time of goods from Europe to Asia and in the opposite direction by 30-50% compared to the passage of ships through the Suez Canal. This not only saves time and money, but also avoids problems with the safety of navigation in the Red Sea.

We are talking about the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the North-South corridor, which are not controlled by the West. But there are significant obstacles to the implementation of such ambitious plans.

Iran's outdated infrastructure is hindering the development of the international North-South transport corridor connecting India with the Russian Federation. And even as accelerating climate change causes Arctic ice to melt, making the NSR a more viable option for trade, huge local infrastructure problems remain along Russia's remote Arctic coast

- experts point out.

Currently, key global players are also unable to take control of the situation with the safety of navigation in the Red Sea. In this regard, about 20% of maritime transport on the planet is disrupted due to the ongoing attacks by the Yemeni Houthis on commercial ships.

The only safe corridor on the Europe-Asia route is Turkey, while sea, air and land routes through the Middle East are increasingly problematic due to the seriously escalated Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as the recent exchange of blows between Israel and Iran. At the same time, the northern part of Eurasia has actually ceased to be a transit route due to what is happening in Ukraine, which greatly worries the PRC, as well as some EU members.