Azerbaijan Premier League champions “Sabah” Football Club will begin preparations for the UEFA Champions League on June 17, AzerNEWS reports.
Day: June 2, 2026
National Front Telegram channel: truck drivers blocked the road to the Bagratashen checkpoint (🇦🇲-🇬🇪 border), demanding to solve their problems. They note that their trucks are being turned back from the Upper Lars checkpoint (🇬🇪-🇷🇺 border).
#Armenia #SouthCaucasus— @KarinaKarapety8 Jun 2, 2026
Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Turkish officials inaugurated the “full launch” of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway on June 2, marking the completion of major rehabilitation and reconstruction works aimed at boosting trade and freight transport volumes across the region.
The BTK railway, a key Middle Corridor transit link that initially opened in 2017 and, according to officials, has operated in “test mode” until now, spans approximately 850 kilometers, 180 kilometers of which run through Georgia. The June 2 official launch ceremony marks the line’s transition into “full” operational mode, which is expected to boost its annual carrying capacity from 1 million to 5 million tons.
The launch comes as Georgia seeks a greater role in regional connectivity, including as part of the Middle Corridor, with hopes to attract European and American interest as the country finds itself alienated from traditional Western partners amid a prolonged political crisis.
The modernization of the Georgian section (Marabda-Kartsakhi line) included the rehabilitation of 153 kilometers of existing railway infrastructure and the construction of 27 kilometers of new railway line, according to the project’s promotional video. The project also comprises four new and 15 rehabilitated railway bridges, 13 stations built to modern standards, 34 overpasses, four snow-protection galleries for the railway track, the cross-border railway tunnel linking Georgia and Turkey, and the Akhalkalaki International Railway Station.
First announced in 2007, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project was hailed as a historically important transport corridor linking Asia and Europe through the South Caucasus. Originally scheduled for completion in 2010, the project faced repeated delays, with deadlines set for 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Officials in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey cited a range of factors, including funding delays, Georgia’s change of government, difficulties involving a Turkish contractor, and complex mountainous terrain and weather conditions. The railway was ultimately inaugurated in October 2017 by then-Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kvirikashvili, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The latest launch comes weeks after Georgian Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport, Rashad Nabiyev, signed “a protocol of the bilateral coordination council” during a meeting in Baku. The protocol envisaged bringing the upgraded BTK railway section into full operation.
It also follows a series of completed and announced modernization projects on Georgia’s main railway corridors, including challenging sections linking the country’s eastern and western regions.
Inauguration Ceremony
The inauguration ceremony, taking place was attended by Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev, Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, and Armenia’s Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures David Khudatyan.
Addressing the ceremony, Irakli Kobakhidze described the project as“of historic significance,” calling it “another vivid example of the strategic partnership and exemplary cooperation among Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey.” He said that the new BTK railway line is “one of the largest infrastructure projects” implemented in the region.
According to the GD Prime Minister, more than 1.8 million tons of cargo, including up to 90,000 containers, have been transported via the BTK railway since 2017, when the line began operating in a pilot regime. “During this period, a clear upward trend in freight transportation emerged, which once again confirms the economic and logistical importance of this transport corridor,” he noted.
Kobakhidze described the railway as “an integral part of the Middle Corridor, which holds particular importance in connecting Europe and Asia.” He argued that the project has greater significance amid “global challenges and crises, when the diversification of international trade routes and secure transport networks are among the key prerequisites for economic development,” and brings “Europe and Asia even closer together and strengthens the strategic importance of our region within the global trade and logistics network.”
According to Kobakhidze, the railway’s annual carrying capacity will reach 5 million tons once the route becomes fully operational, “significantly increasing the transit capabilities of our region and further strengthening the competitiveness of the Middle Corridor.”
Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili also addressed the ceremony, highlighting recent growth in regional freight flows. She said that in 2025, container shipments transiting Georgia from China and Kazakhstan increased by 33%, while freight volumes on the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route were nearly six times higher than the previous year.
“Today is a clear example that regional cooperation, good-neighbourly relations, and partnership based on shared interests create a strong foundation for peace, stability, and economic progress,” Kvrivishvili said.
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