Armenia Awaits Opening of Checkpoint on Russia-Georgia Border

YEREVAN - A new checkpoint will be opened on the Russian-Georgian border to facilitate freight traffic between Armenia and Russia, according to Armenia’s ARKA News Agency.

“We plan to do more than just open a border checkpoint. Armenia plans to jointly oversee the day-to-day operation at the site,” Armenia’s Deputy Transport Minister Artur Arakelyan said. “The design work is currently under way, but we cannot take part in the planning as the proposed site is a part of Russia’s territory,” he added.

Armenian freight companies endured severe delays on the Russian side of the Upper Lars Checkpoint in 2015, as long queues of Georgian and Turkish cargo vehicles backed up traffic for days at a time.

Armenia’s government recently asked the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to guarantee an expedited customs clearance process for cargo vehicles originating from the bloc’s member countries.

Considerable investments will be needed to widen the existing road due to the surrounding hazardous terrain and altitude.

The Eurasian Economic Union is the brainchild of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government. The bloc is comprised of former Soviet republics who are closely allied to Russia and who look to Moscow for political, security and economic support.

The union’s current members include Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.

The EEU also maintains close ties to the numerous pro-Russian breakaway regions – including Georgia’s Abkhazia and South Ossetia districts – that emerged in the two decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union

By Ana Akhalaia

Edited by Nicholas Waller