The Russo-Ukrainian war has had a direct impact on the status of the various China–Central Asia–Russia–Europe transit corridors that traverse Eurasia. The Northern Corridor branch of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in particular, has faced serious challenges and limitations, forcing a halt to the so-called “New Eurasian Land Bridge” project, linking Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus with East Asia. This has given new impetus to developing the so-called Middle Corridor—more formally known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR)—which starts from Southeast Asia and China, and, bypassing Russia, runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further to European countries (see EDM, April 18, 19, 20). Another budding option, particularly for the land-locked Central Asian region, is to build north-south linkages to Iran’s overland transit network, which offers further connections to Turkey, the Middle East and Europe, as well as to Iranian seaports on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman (see EDM, May 5).
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