2011 02 08

Viking train line talks continue

Amid concerns that the Viking rail project, which will connect Odessa in Ukraine to Klaipeda in Lithuania, would be weighed down by red tape at the borders, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the line would benefit from special customs procedures.

Keeping the trains moving smoothly along the line is an obvious talking point given that both Ukraine and Belarus have stringent border policies and neither of them are in the Schengen zone.

The project, which has been on the table since 2003, is yet to start, but has already been hailed as a great project for European-Asian cargo lines.

The most important issues of bilateral cooperation with Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich and Azarov were discussed with Lithuania's foreign affairs minister Audronius Azubalis.

The officials discussed barriers to cross border trade between the countries and set up a meeting for the discussion of the restrictions on oil products imports.

 

Source www.alfa.lt