As part of its strategy to maintain commercial links with the European Union, Uzbekistan has for the first time dispatched a train loaded with copper to Europe via a new route avoiding Russia, according to the state-owned Uzbekistan Railways.
According to a statement from the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine, the train will transport 46 rail cars and 91 units of 20-foot containers of copper concentrate over 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles) to Bulgaria.
With the aid of train ferries, the Middle Corridor route traverses Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia as well as the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
The Middle Corridor has been marketed by Brussels as a substitute for the conventional Northern route for rail shipments between Europe and Asia that passes through Russia.
The creation of cargo routes between Europe and Asia that avoid Russia is what the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced last month that it was prepared to fund with billions of euros.