Arsou Chitanava and his assistant Oktay Khazirishi told Apsnypress about the results of the meetings.

Chitanava noted there were held negotiations in Moscow with the heads of a number of departments of the central office of Russian Railways.

“We discussed issues related to the organization of container transportation, connecting AZD to the information systems of Russian Railways, increasing the passenger flow between our states,” Chitanava said.

Oktay Khazirishi, assistant general director of the Abkhazian Railway RUE, said that the Abkhaz side presented a new project at the meeting - the Abkhaz cruise tourist train.

“A cruise train will depart from Sochi to Abkhazia. On its way it will make three stops: at Gagripsh station (Gagra), Psyrtskha station (Noviy Afon) and Kyalasur station (Sukhum). Passengers of the train will spend one day in Gagra, Noviy Afon and Sukhum. They will spend the night on the train. Tourists will be offered interesting excursion routes to the sights of Abkhazia. The train will be guarded. It will have a dining car ”.

AZD believes that this project is a good alternative to sightseeing buses that come to Abkhazia.

“They often try to cover all sorts of excursion routes, but they fail. The Abkhazian cruise option will be much more convenient, ” he said.

According to Khazirishi, Russian colleagues have expressed interest in this project. “There are technical issues related to the overnight stop of the train. We need to work out a few more points to implement our plans, ” assistant to general director of Abkhazian Railways said. He also said that the parties also discussed the possibility of implementing projects related to environmental protection and ecology in Abkhazia.

“The Abkhazian railway passes through unique natural, climatic and architectural places. We have a great responsibility in environmental protection. This area of ​​work is new for us, but necessary. We follow the activities of Russian Railways and we know that they devoted this year to the environment. They have developed a plan for the company's environmental policy until 2030. Russian Railways has useful experience in the field of environmental protection and waste recycling in the railway industry, ” Khazirishi said.

He clarified that the Russian colleagues promised to provide more detailed information on what kind of assistance they can provide to Abkhazia in the issue of disposal of harmful substances and the improvement of natural areas.

The Abkhazian delegation will stay in Moscow until March 18.