Moscow’s diplomatic rifts with Ankara and the West could turn an outlying little town in northwest Iran to a buzzing trade center for re-exports to Russia, local officials say. 

Tucked away among a rocky gorge some 22 kilometers from the Turkish border, Maku, a sleeping town of a few thousand residents, could get an uncanny boon of fortune from the economic fallout of the crisis.

“Given the closure of Russian markets to European and Turkish goods, the Maku Free Zone will turn to a base for re-exports of goods to Russia,” chief director of customs and exports at the border terminal Akbar Nobakht said.

“In order to make the best of the geographic position at the Turkish border and entry into Russia, the biggest exports terminal has been established at the Maku Free Zone,” he told the Fars news agency.

New source of supply

Russian leaders have cited Iran as a possible new source of supply after banning imports from Turkey and Europe.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a raft of sanctions against Turkey in retaliation for the downing of a Russian warplane in Syria.

Moscow has also a ban in place against imports of fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy products from Europe, the US, Canada and Australia in retaliation.

Nobakht said Iran can process and repackage European and Turkish goods in Maku and export them to Russia.

“Given that Russia has shut all its doors to European goods after intensifying its sanctions, we can use this capacity for exports of those commodities,” he said.

Local authorities are rising to the occasion, planning to set up Iran’s first round-the-clock exports terminal. They are putting closed-circuit television cameras and high-mast lighting installations at the crossing to facilitate transit.

Nobakht said the terminal is also a major boost to truckers who had to queue up for days at the nearby Bazargan border crossing, often carrying perishable agricultural cargoes.

“From now on, exporters can unload their cargoes at the Maku exports terminal in case of a problem and reload them to avoid any complication,” he said.

Russian delegation for trade 

On Wednesday, head of the Iran-Russia Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgarowladi said a Russian delegation will arrive in Iran soon to visit the country’s food production and processing facilities.

“Russia is willing to import Iranian agricultural goods, dairy products, vegetables and fruit,” the Tasnim news agency quoted him as saying.

“In view of the regional conditions and Western sanctions on Russia as well as the drop in trade relations with Turkey, we are trying to bolster our presence in Russian markets with a strategy of enduring connection,” Asgarowladi said.

Earlier this week, head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce Mohsen Jalalpour said President Hassan Rouhani has asked for President Putin's intervention to facilitate exports of Iranian food to Russia.

“After a decade of trade relations, our food still faces limitations for entry into Russia,” Jalalpour said.