A rail consignment of Russian wheat has moved to Armenia via Azerbaijan for the first time since the 1990s, reopening a practical Baku-Tbilisi transit corridor for agro-cargo and potentially wider freight. 

The restart follows Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s October 21 announcement in Kazakhstan that Azerbaijan had lifted all post-war restrictions on freight transit to Armenia, according to remarks reported by APA.

At 00:15 on November 4, 15 wagons carrying 1,048.8 tonnes of wheat were cleared to Dalarik station in Armenia, transiting Russia-Azerbaijan-Georgia, according to Azerbaijan Railways and APA.

Russia’s Transport Ministry said the initial shipment — organised by Russian Railways from Dimitrovgrad in Ulyanovsk region and exceeding 1,000 tonnes — has been delivered, and that work is under way to route other cargo categories along the same line. The ministry added that, by end-January 2026, a further 132 wagons of wheat are planned for Armenia via Azerbaijan, and described this as the first such railway movement since the 1990s, according to its official statement.

Armenia’s Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan said the grain train “is already traversing Azerbaijani territory towards Georgia” and will arrive in Armenia “soon”, adding: “I highly value the work done by my Azerbaijani and Russian colleagues in this direction. This event is of great significance for strengthening mutual trust and advancing the peace agenda,” according to Armenpress.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told an international forum in Yerevan that “peace has been established” with Azerbaijan and that the sides are “working on the remaining components”, arguing that peace would significantly bolster both countries’ sovereignty and warning that “any conflict creates a favourable ground for third countries to pursue their own interests,” according to Armenian media reports.